MovieMantz Rantz: Critics Didn’t Crack The ‘Code’ (May 24, 2006)

The movie is out.  The people have spoken.  And their message to the critics was loud and clear.

“Who cares what you think anyway!”

Just a mere 2 days after getting some downright nasty reviews at the Cannes Film Festival, “The Da Vinci Code” opened around the world with a whopping $224 million, making it the second biggest opening of all time behind “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” (which opened over the same frame last year).

Not bad for a movie that was unanimously panned by most critics (myself included).  But it just goes to show you that when a big movie opens after a deafening buildup of hype, publicity and controversy, people are going to see it no matter what.  As a result, “The Da Vinci Code” also made a huge bow stateside with $77 million — a career best for Tom Hanks and the year’s biggest opening, beating “Ice Age: The Meltdown.”

And there was plenty to go around, as the frame’s other wide opener, “Over the Hedge,” debuted in second place with a healthy $38 million.  While not as strong as other DreamWorks computer-animated family films like “Madagascar” and “Shrek 2,” at least those moves didn’t have to open up against a juggernaut like “The Da Vinci Code.”

But now the real test will come this weekend, when word-of-mouth seals the long-term fate of “Da Vinci.”  If the public response is as vicious as what the critics thought, then the film will face a sharp decline at the box office.

Somehow, though, I don’t think that will happen, as the general consensus among moviegoers is that they enjoyed it a lot more than those cranky critics.  So the hope is that they will tell their friends to see it.  And then they will tell their friends.  And so on.  And so on.  And so on.

Besides, the only other wide release over the long (and very lucrative) Memorial Day Weekend is “X-Men: The Last Stand,” which appeals to a much younger audience than the adult-skewering “Da Vinci Code.”

So no matter what, you can expect another big box office take for “Da Vinci,” which is even further proof that moviegoers simply don’t give a hoot what those critics think!