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Da Vinci Code unlocks $224m in world sales
All the protests and all the bad reviews could not prevent The Da Vinci Code from recording a $224 million (Dh823 million) worldwide opening, the second-biggest debut ever at the global box office, its distributor said yesterday.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:00 May 22, 2006
Los Angeles: All the protests and all the bad reviews could not prevent The Da Vinci Code from recording a $224 million (Dh823 million) worldwide opening, the second-biggest debut ever at the global box office, its distributor said yesterday.
The controversial adaptation of Dan Brown's best-selling novel, the story of a Vatican cover-up involving Jesus Christ and his supposed offspring, sold about $77 million (Dh283 million) worth of tickets at movie theatres in the United States and Canada during its first three days, according to Columbia Pictures.
Box-office watchers had predicted a North American opening of between $50 million and $80 million for the most eagerly awaited movie of the year.
The biggest North American opening this year had been $68 million for Ice Age: The Meltdown seven weeks ago. But The Da Vinci Code numbers were still far from the $115 million record held by 2002's Spider-Man.
The Da Vinci Code earned about $147 million overseas, the biggest international opening ever. The previous record was last year's Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith with $145 million, Columbia said.
The total haul of $224 million ranks No 2 behind the $253 million tally for the Star Wars movie, the studio said.
Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp, released the $125 million film in 90 foreign markets, following its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday.
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