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