Angels and Demons Does Better Than Anticipated

In its opening weekend, Angels and Demons, the prequel to The Da Vinci Code, opened at No. 1 in North American theaters, reports the New York Times. It grossed an estimated $48 million in ticket sales in North America and an additional $104.3 million total in 96 other countries combined.

The film is another adaptation of a Dan Brown novel. Tom Hanks plays the same protagonist as in Da Vinci, and the picture had the same director, Ron Howard.

Although topping the opening weekend, Angels fell short of surpassing Da Vinci's opening weekend, which was $77 million in North America and $147 million globally, according to Reuters.

The Associated Press reports, Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony, expects the film to take in half a billion altogether in theater ticket sales.

Many believe the lack of public attention due to the Church banning the book and Brown being in a lawsuit for copyright infringement at one point before the release may have been the best publicity for The Da Vinci Code. This publicity was what Angels and Demons was without.