The Da Vinci Code, the film adapted from Dan Brown's best-selling novel, made its world debut in Beijing on Wednesday evening.

 

About four-and-a-half hours before it was screened at this year's Cannes Film Festival, the big-budget Hollywood thriller impressed the Chinese audience with performances from Oscar-winning Tom Hanks and France's Audrey Tautou.

 

The US director Ron Howard's US$125 million film tells of Jesus marrying Mary Magdalene and having a child whose descendants are still alive today.

 

With a shining cast and controversial plot, the movie is expected to be a massive hit both because of the novel's worldwide sales record of over 40 million copies and protests from religious circles.

 

Xu Bing, a spokesman with the China Film Group Corporation, the movie's China's distributor, estimated that the movie is likely to reap over 60 million yuan (US$7.5 million).

 

The company has decided to show the movie simultaneously in big cities across the country with over 380 copies in over 30 cinema lines, he told Xinhua News Agency at the premiere.

 

Despite protests from Christians in several countries and regions in the world, Li Chow, General Manager of the Columbia Triastar Film Distributors International China, said no part of the movie has been cut for its release in China.

 

 

The Da Vinci Code has sparked controversy over its "sacrilegious" story and has met opposition from many countries worldwide. Some religious groups in India have called on people to protest against the movie. Singapore's national film administration listed the film into grade NC-16, saying the film is not suitable for children without discretion.

 

In Britain, the film was forced to make changes in its music and sound effects so that "children aged under 12 could watch the film accompanied by their parents".

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 18, 2006)