Sunday, May 21, 2006

Da Vinci Code Cracks $77 Million - First Weekend

Moviegoers gave their blessing to the The Da Vinci Code over the weekend, spending an estimated $77 million US to see the Tom Hanks religious thriller.

While the film didn't set a domestic box office record, it was the largest weekend opening of the year so far and became the second largest worldwide release after Star Wars: Episode III. It garnered some $224 million worldwide, according to Sony Pictures.

The film also was the best domestic opening for both Hanks and director Ron Howard.

The movie's performance, combined with the family film Over the Hedge debuting in second place with $37.2 million, was a welcome contrast to the last two weekends that saw disappointing results from Poseidon and Mission: Impossible III.

The total box office was down about 2.8 per cent from the same weekend last year, according to studio estimates released Sunday. But that's a tough comparison given that last year's numbers included the record-setting debut of Star Wars: Episode III.

"Da Vinci opening this big just tells you that people do want to go to the movies, they just need the right movie to go," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

(Keep Reading)

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, $4.4 million

7. Just My Luck, $3.4 million.

8. An American Haunting, $1.7 million.

9. United 93, $1.4 million.

10. Akeelah and the Bee, $1 million.

1 comment:

Reel Fanatic said...

I was hoping against hope for a "Da Vinci" flop, but I guess people love controversy .. I went to see "Over the Hedge" instead and absolutely loved it .. very intelligent, and very, very funny