In its first weekend, The Da Vinci Code opened to an impressive $77.07 million in North America, dominating the box office with an absolute lead. Meanwhile, Iron Man, now in its fourth week of release, continued a steady and healthy downward trend, grossing $17.82 million over the weekend and taking second place on the North American box office chart.
However, the two films had a stark contrast in audience reception. The Da Vinci Code had only a 77% audience approval rating in theaters, with a CinemaScore of B, while Iron Man, despite being out for four weeks, still held an 87% approval rating and maintained a solid A+ score.
Such differing audience feedback often represents vastly different trajectories in the subsequent market performance.
Although Iron Man had passed its hottest screening phase, its momentum remained stable. So far, its North American box office had totaled $323.2 million, and no matter what happened next, it had already become the big winner of the summer season.
After exhausting the enthusiasm of fans of the original novel, The Da Vinci Code saw a sharp drop in weekday box office, earning just over $5 million on Monday alone—definitely not good news for Sony Columbia Pictures.
However, the difficulty in recouping production costs through box office returns was not high. For Sony Columbia Pictures, which had been in a slump since the Spider-Man series, this was finally a new profitable project.
Sony Columbia Pictures certainly wouldn't give up on this rare opportunity. They immediately turned their attention to Angels & Demons, considered a prequel to The Da Vinci Code, planning to continue with Tom Hanks in the leading role.
Soon after, a rumor spread through Hollywood that Tom Hanks' team had offered Sony Columbia Pictures an astronomical price Tom demanded 40% of the film's total profit share.
This could be considered a sky-high contract. In the history of Hollywood, including all directors, actors, and producers, there had never been such a massive deal. If Sony Entertainment really signed with Tom Hanks, it would undoubtedly mark a new chapter in Hollywood history.
But everyone knew that this was just Tom Hanks and Ino Martin shouting out an exaggerated asking price. Even so, the price alone shocked the industry.
No matter how Sony Columbia Pictures negotiated with Tom Hanks and Ino Martin from CAA, it could not change the fact that The Da Vinci Code's box office performance had started to weaken after the first weekend.
When the film completed its first full week of release, its North American box office finally broke the $100 million mark. While this was definitely worth celebrating for an ordinary film, for The Da Vinci Code, the best-selling American novel, and Sony Entertainment's expectations, it still felt somewhat flat.
The first week of release was crucial for The Da Vinci Code. Iron Man had already passed its peak, and there were no major productions launching during that period. These seven days were its chance to dominate the market. But next week would usher in one of the most important holidays in North America—Memorial Day.
A conclusive installment in an already successful superhero series was set to be released during that time.
20th Century Fox was launching the final installment of the X-Men trilogy.
Of course, for someone like Duke, who had relatively close ties with 20th Century Fox and News Corporation, the so-called "final chapter" was merely the end of a phase.
20th Century Fox had noticed the shortcomings of X-Men and was already planning to produce a standalone Wolverine movie. They also intended to reboot the franchise with a younger cast to replace older actors like Ian McKellen.
At the same time, influenced by Marvel's grand plan, they also prepared to split off key X-Men characters into standalone films before reassembling them.
For Marvel Comics, this was definitely bad news. It meant that for a very long time, they wouldn't be able to reclaim the X-Men movie rights.
Duke understood this well. Although he was Marvel Comics' largest shareholder, he also knew that not everything good in the world was naturally his to claim.
Among the superhero rights Marvel sold off back then, except for less appealing big-screen characters like the Hulk, franchises like Spider-Man, X-Men, and Fantastic Four were nearly impossible to reclaim unless the other party voluntarily breached contract.
Especially X-Men, which was a goldmine for 20th Century Fox.
Building on the success of the first two films, X-Men: The Last Stand grossed $102.75 million in its first weekend in North America. Including Monday's Memorial Day holiday, the film earned a total of $122.86 million over the holiday period.
The massive success of X-Men: The Last Stand also squeezed the survival space for other films, especially The Da Vinci Code. Sony Columbia Pictures' major production saw a 58% drop in its second weekend, earning only $32.37 million.
Undoubtedly, X-Men: The Last Stand and The Da Vinci Code occupied the top two spots at the North American box office, with Iron Man in third.
According to outside estimates, Iron Man, now entering its fifth weekend, was expected to drop below $10 million. But the film's excellent audience reputation played a role—ultimately, it grossed $10.51 million, continuing its steady pace.
As the sizzling May box office season came to a close, Iron Man was undoubtedly the biggest winner so far. It had earned $347.55 million in North America and crossed $500 million globally, making it a true phenomenon.
Right after Iron Man, as June began, another film co-produced by Warner Bros. and Duke's studio officially opened 300, directed by Zack Snyder, held a grand premiere in Los Angeles.
Duke's former assistant, having been tested by the two Matrix sequels, would undoubtedly become one of Hollywood's top-tier directors if 300 achieved major success.
This stylistically bold film didn't use a single exterior shot. Everything was shot on green screens in a studio, and filming took just 60 days. However, the complex post-production visual effects meant that the film was only fully completed earlier this year.
And these three hundred red-pantsed warriors delivered nothing short of a breathtaking audiovisual experience.
At the premiere, a massive poster of "Leonidas at Thermopylae" hung on the front of Chandler Hall. Unlike the famous paintings housed in the Louvre, this poster gave off an aura of bloodthirsty ferocity. Gerard Butler, playing Spartan King Leonidas, attracted plenty of attention just with his ripped physique.
"Zack is an outstanding director and will become a great one."
In the interview area, Duke spoke to reporters' cameras without reservation, praising the film's director. "The Matrix sequels already proved this. I believe 300 will lead a new wave of epic film style."
Today's spotlight belonged to someone else, and Duke only spoke briefly before moving to the theater's waiting area.
"Hey, Zack."
Finding his old friend, the two shared a light hug, and Duke said, "I've seen the final cut, man, you really went beyond expectations."
"Can I take that as a compliment?" Zack Snyder said on purpose. "It's not easy to surprise you."
However, the film's style was indeed unconventional. That thick, oil-painting-like color tone created a strong visual impact with ease, especially Zack Snyder's use of high-speed slow motion—one could say it had reached perfection.
Since Duke was also credited as a producer, after taking a group photo with the production team, he walked into Chandler Hall together with Zack Snyder.
As they walked, the two chatted softly about recent events.
"So Warner Bros. and DC Comics approached you?" Duke asked in a low voice.
Zack Snyder nodded. "They want me to direct the new Superman film."
"And what's your take on that?" Duke knew there could be no half-heartedness in such matters.
"I'm still quite interested in Superman."
At this point, Zack Snyder suddenly shifted the topic. "But I'm more interested in another DC comic."
Before Duke could ask, he volunteered, "I want to direct Watchmen first. I just don't know whether DC Comics and Warner Bros. would be willing to hand one of their biggest properties over to me."
Watchmen didn't have the same household-name status in the DC lineup as Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman—the Justice Trinity—but its societal impact was significant. Warner Bros. and DC Comics had tried multiple times to bring it to the big screen, especially in the early to mid-90s when Duke had just started working with Warner Bros. The adaptation almost got greenlit.
At the time, there were rumors that Robin Williams would play Rorschach, Jamie Lee Curtis would play the Spectre, Gary Busey the Comedian, and Richard Gere and Kevin Costner were also involved. But after multiple rewrites of the script, Warner Bros. ultimately shelved the project.
It's said that Michael Bay had also shown interest in the film but was turned down by Warner Bros. due to differences in personal style.
The themes expressed in this comic were simply too complex, going beyond the limits of what a comic or a comic-adapted film could handle.
Duke knew very well that as long as 300 Spartans succeeded, Zack Snyder wouldn't have much trouble getting the rights to adapt Watchmen.
Every director has their dream project, and Zack Snyder was no exception. Of course, Duke wasn't foolish enough to make decisions on Zack Snyder's behalf.
Duke simply said, "Zack, you have my full support. As long as you understand our goals and style in making films, that's enough."
"I understand," Zack Snyder said seriously. "This will definitely be a commercial film."