Cracking start for Da Vinci Code film

Eights weeks before the film version of the The Da Vinci Code is released in Australia, fans are already buying tickets. The film, based on the blockbuster novel by Dan Brown, is expected to be a huge hit, prompting distributors to release tickets through major cinema chains, including Greater Union, last week. Sony Pictures in Australia said the early release was a recognition of fans' wishes, not a marketing ploy. "In more than 20 years working in the film business, I've never seen anything quite like it," Sony Pictures managing director Ross Entwistle said in a statement. [More]