'Da Vinci' Breaks Overseas Records

Zap2It.com | May 22, 2006

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Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, 'The Da Vinci Code'
Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, 'The Da Vinci Code'
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Worldwide audiences thumb their collective noses at dismissive critics

With a $77 million take, "The Da Vinci Code" became the year's biggest domestic opener thus far, but the Ron Howard thriller's international numbers proved even more impressive.

Braving generally dismissive reviews, the Tom Hanks vehicle pulled in an estimated $147 million overseas for the three-day period ending Sunday, May 21. Those figures, assuming they stay stable when the final figures are released, would represent the largest international bow ever, topping the $145 million earned by "Star Wars III -- Revenge of the Sith" in its opening weekend last year.

Exceeding all expectations, "Da Vinci" made a mockery of the $22.2 million second place foreign finish for "Mission: Impossible III."

According to Variety, the controversial Dan Brown adaptation had its biggest foreign outing in the United Kingdom, where it made $15.7 in 1,098 theaters. In Germany, it made $12.3 million, while the film also made more than $11 million in France, Italy, Japan and Spain.

With its worldwide cumulative box office already at $224 million, "The Da Vinci Code" will face a tough test next weekend from "X-Men: The Last Stand."

In the United States, the "Da Vinci" premiere with the 13th highest all-time, and easily topped "Ice Age: The Meltdown" as the year's best thus far.
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