'Da Vinci Code' thrills at the box office

Poor reviews and bitter protests did not keep moviegoers from giving their blessing to The Da Vinci Code this weekend.

It earned $224 million US worldwide in its first three days, the second-largest debut at the global box office.

The biggest opening weekend sales ever were from last year's Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, which also earned thumbs-down from critics and pulled in $253 million its first weekend.

In the North American market, Da Vinci Code had the best opening of any film this year, pulling in $77 million US. Other recent blockbusters, such as Mission Impossible III and The Poseidon Adventure, have had disappointing results at the box office.

The film does not approach thebest North American debut in movie history $115 million for 2002's Spider-Man.

Columbia Pictures released the film in 90 foreign markets following its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday.

Based on Dan Brown's best-selling book, the $125-millionfilm starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tatou failed to thrill critics. The Cannes audience was cool and reviewers around the world found the movie version both rushed and lacking in excitement.

The film did inflame passions among religious groups. Some Christians, particularly Catholics, were angered by the story which postulates that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and the pair had a child.

A Catholic lay organization, the American Society for the Defence of Tradition, Family and Property, took out full-page ads in USA Today on Friday urging worshipers to stage prayer vigils outside cinemas across the U.S.

Islamic groups also oppose the film's "offensive" take on the story of Jesus, who is a revered prophet in the Muslim world, though not as significant as Mohammad.

Pakistan's Islamist parties plan to hold nationwide demonstrations against The Da Vinci Code later this week, even though the film has not been cleared for commercial distribution in Pakistan.

It is expected to be widely available on bootlegged discs and is hotly anticipated by some Pakistanis.

"The film is offensive towards a holy figure dear to all religions," Liaquat Balouch, deputy secretary-general of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, the main Islamist political alliance, told Reuters.