The box office gods frowned on the new Tom Hanks religious thriller "Angels & Demons," which was the top film worldwide at the weekend, but fell far short of its much-hyped predecessor "The Da Vinci Code", Reuters reported.
Distributor Columbia Pictures said on Sunday the $150 million sequel earned about $48 million during its first three days of release in North America, merely the sixth-biggest opener of the year so far.
Guided by the studio, box office pundits had expected "Angels" to open in the $40 million to $50 million range, and Columbia said it was thrilled with the result.
But "The Da Vinci Code" opened to $77 million in 2006 on its way to a domestic haul of $217.5 million. The sequel should pass the $150 million mark, said Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution at the Sony Corp unit.
"Angels" also earned $104.3 million from No. 1 starts in 96 countries, down from the $147 million start for "Da Vinci."
Inevitably, the new film failed to replicate the buzz of the first one. "The Da Vinci Code," based on a bestselling book by Dan Brown, generated a firestorm of criticism with its premise that Jesus impregnated Mary Magdalene and that church officials tried to keep their bloodline secret.
The Vatican -- along with most critics -- ripped the film, but took a more measured tone against its sequel. Columbia said the first book sold twice as many copies as the second one, a clear indication that the second movie would come up short.
"On the other hand, 'Angels' absolutely was a far more cinematic book than 'Da Vinci Code' was," said Bruer.
Hanks returns as a Harvard professor on a mission to save the papacy, and director Ron Howard is also back. Critics were still scathing.
Bruer expected the film to hold up well in coming weeks, as a rare adult thriller in a summer marketplace dominated by youth-skewing pictures like last weekend's champ "Star Trek" and the Thursday release "Terminator Salvation."
The studio was also bullish about its overseas prospects, noting that it was the biggest international opening for a film since "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" last year. "Angels" has yet to open in India, China and Mexico, which were included in the opening tally for "Da Vinci."
Germany was the top market, contributing $12.7 million -- about the same as the opening for "The Da Vinci Code." Italy was also steady with $11.4 million. But Britain accounted for $9.7 million, down from $15.7 million for "Da Vinci." Spain ($7.1 million) and Japan ($6.9 million) also saw sizable drops. "Da Vinci" finished with $540.7 million internationally.
"Star Trek," meanwhile, slipped to No. 2 in North America with $43 million, losing just 43 percent of the audience from its opening round. Total sales rose to $147.6 million. The sci-fi reboot was distributed by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc.
"X Men Origins: Wolverine," which kicked off the lucrative summer movie season two weekends ago, was down one to No. 3 with $14.8 million. The total for the superhero picture rose to $151.1 million, with foreign fans kicking in an additional $144.5 million. The film was released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp.
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