"Da Vinci Code" Unlocks Millions

After all the mystery and controversy, The Da Vinci Code was finally unlocked for the public.

There was nothing cryptic about what was found. It was a hit.

Domestically, the film adaptation of Dan Brown's super popular novel earned an impressive $77 million while raking in a huge $224 million worldwide.

Expressing delight, Rory Bruer, president of distribution for Sony Pictures, said the derisive reception of director Ron Howard's and star Tom Hanks' work at the $125 million's production's Cannes Film Festival premiere, as well as threats of boycotts by religious groups, clearly hadn't hurt business.

In fact, all the press coverage was probably a boost to an already high profile project. The premise of Brown's successful thriller supposes that Jesus and Mary Magdalene's offspring live on and that certain factions of the Roman Catholic Church are very, very unhappy about that. Unhappy enough to kill.

"I think basically this was certainly a film that audiences were going to make up their own minds about. Having a lot of newscasters from TV and radio and from newspapers asking audiences what they thought raised awareness. And certainly we had some very high profile critics who liked the film. And probably our most important critic of all is Dan Brown--and he loved it!" Bruer said.

The PG-13 movie skews towards an adult audience, which bodes well for continued business during the upcoming weeks.

"Adult films tend to hold up better. They tend to play off over a period of time and certainly here in the U.S., with Memorial Day coming up next weekend, prospects are very good for a strong hold-over," said Bruer, who called the domestic gross above what the studio had anticipated and the worldwide gross "incredible."

"Audiences decide for themselves," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, Inc., the company that tallies studio grosses. He also noted that media reports of controversy about both the content and critical response undoubtedly created additional "awareness," which made even people who hadn't bought the book, "want to see what the fuss was about."

The movie, which also stars Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina and Paul Bettany as the albino killer monk, earned $29 million on Friday, $27.5 million on Saturday, and $20 million on Sunday, averaging a very impressive $20,616 per screen at 3,735 sites throughout North America. That only added up to be the 13th best domestic opening, but gave both Howard and Hanks their best-ever openings. (The record for the number one domestic opening is held by Spider-Man's $114.8 million.) Internationally--playing in 90 markets--the gross added up to the second best opening ever, reportedly surpassed only by Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, which at this time last year opened at home with $108.4 million, part of its whopping record $253 million worldwide.

In considerably distant second place this weekend was Over the Hedge, the latest critter cartoon. But the DreamWorks pic's $37.2 million opening was slightly above studio expectations, according to Jim Tharp, president of motion picture distribution for Paramount Pictures, which now releases DreamWorks product.

"It's funny," said Tharp about the family-friendly appeal of the PG-rated CGI tale about a pushy raccoon (voiced by Bruce Willis) who leads a bunch of furry pals on raids against humans whose suburb has encroached on their wilderness. Opening at 4,059 theaters, it averaged $9,172.

Also opening wide was yet another Lions Gate horror flick, the R-rated See No Evil. At 1,257 sites, the pluck-out-your-eyes gory flick, starring wrestler Glen "Kane" Jacobs, scared up $3,461 per screen for $4.3 million, only enough for sixth place.

The arrival of two new hits pushed Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible III down to third place as it dropped 56 percent in its third week. However, the action sequel earned $11 million, edging past the $100 million mark to reach $103.2 million.

That's respectable, especially when compared to another recent expensive production, Poseidon. Never successfully afloat, the big boat a-sinking drama sank 58 percent in its second weekend, taking in just $9.2 million to bring its current gross to merely $36.7 million.

At just one theater The King, ThinkFilm's R-rated religious themed drama starring Gael Garcia Bernal and William Hurt, kicked off with $9,100.

Although this weekend's box office gross was up 80.1 percent over last weekend, it didn't improve on last year's numbers. The combined top 12 gross of $153.1 million was actually 2.1 percent below the $157.6 million generated when Revenge of the Sith hit screens 12 months ago.

Next weekend, which sees the arrival of Fox's X-Men: The Last Stand, has a chance to be a very successful Memorial Day weekend if business for this week's top entries holds up as expected.

Final figures are due Monday. The estimated top 10 domestic grosses for this weekend follow:

1. The Da Vinci Code, $77 million
2. Over the Hedge, $37.2 million
3. Mission: Impossible III, $11 million
4. Poseidon, $9.2 million
5. RV, $5.1 million
6. See No Evil, $4.3 million
7. Just My Luck, $3.3 million
8. An American Haunting, $1.6 million
9. United 93, $1.4 million
10. Akeelah and the Bee, $1 million