Entering theatres under a curtain of negative reviews, Ron Howard's The Da Vinci Code gave critics the big middle-finger this weekend with the 2nd biggest three-day opening ever.
The Da Vinci Code Takes Box Office
When I wrote my review on The Da Vinci Code (here) I originally feared that it was too in favor of the casual moviegoer. Was I blinded by the hype enough to call The Da Vinci Code a good flick? Apparently not, as the response I received to both my phone and my mail box has confirmed the same 'positive' opinioins from multiple attendees. To be honest, on more than a few occasions I was told that the negative press helped the viewer enjoy the film even more.
As I had mentioned in my review, the early negative reviews did not look like they were going to stop this film from selling out in just about every theatre it showed at. According to the latest report, The Da Vinci Code has landed itself the number two spot as the biggest opening over a three-day weekend. With $77 million domestically and a whopping $147 million overseas, Sony Pictures is laughing all the way to the bank. And, considering word of mouth has been significantly better than word of critic, the film could have some legs next weekend when it takes on X-Men: The Last Stand.
With the $77 million take, The Da Vinci Code is the biggest domestic opener of 2006.
You have to also hand it to Dreamworks with their CG animation Over the Hedge. Though the film's box office take did not match up to Madagascar's a year earlier, the animation had to go up against the hype of Da Vinci and came out on the other end OK. Since there were sure to be many moviegoers who saw The Da Vinci Code instead of taking the family out, there is a small chance that Over the Hedge could have the legs to experience only a minor drop in its second weekend. That is, if X-Men: The Last Stand doesn't pull all the adults away from their families again.
Over the Hedge had a domestic box office take of approximately $37 million.
The Da Vinci Code and Over the Hedge are out in theatres now.
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