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The contentious movie Da vinci Code sold out on the first day of its release.
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Religious groups continue to protest film’s message
The Da Vinci Code saw a healthy domestic box-office return on its opening night, as viewers flocked to theaters despite--or perhaps because of--the controversy it has ignited. The film has been an object of contention even before its release, with one conservative Christian group filing a court petition asking that it be prevented from public screening. The minister of a large church in the city of Incheon and some of his followers held "one-man protests" at ten theaters in the Incheong and Bucheon areas on the first day of the film's showing, passing out flyers describing the fictional nature of the movie. Reverend Hong Jae-cheol of the Gyeongseo Church, Seoul, held a one-man protest in front of the well-known Seoul theaters Danseongsa and Cine House. The Christian Council of Korea, an umbrella organization of conservative churches, says it plans to print 100,000 flyers questioning the film's contents and distribute them at similar protests. A spokesman for the group said that it collected 120,000 signatures on its homepage in a period of two weeks.Kim Tae-seong of the theater chain Megabox said that tickets sold well on the first day because of the publicity resulting from the court action by Christian conservatives, and because viewers were highly curious about the film because distributors decided to release it with none of the usual prior marketing due to the surrounding controversy. However, he added it would take two to three weeks to determine whether the film remains popular. The film had been controversial since before it aired, with one conservative Christian group filing a court petition asking that it be prevented from public showing. The minister of a large church in the city of Incheon and some of his followers held "one man protests" at ten theaters in the Incheong and Bucheon area on the first day of the film's showing. They also passed out flyers describing the fictional nature of the movie. Rev. Hong Jae-cheol of the Gyeongseo Church, in Seoul, held a one man protest in front of the well-known Seoul theaters Danseongsa and Cine House. The Christian Council of Korea, an umbrella organization of conservative churches, says it plans to pint 100,000 flyers questioning the film's contents and distribute them at similar protests. A spokesman for the group said that it collected 120,000 signatures on its homepage in a period of two weeks. Kim Tae-seong of the theater chain Megabox said that tickets sold well on the first day because of the publicity resulting from the court action by Christian conservatives, and because viewers were highly curious about the film "because there was no prior marketing." However, he added that it would take two to three weeks to determine whether the film remains popular. The only two films shown in Korea without any prior advertising are director Kim Ki-duk's Hal and the Da Vinci Code.
