The Da Vinci Post

Today's medianote was about the weekend's huge opening for "The Da Vinci Code" and what this means for the film industry. Clearly this film has struck a nerve, drawing large audiences worldwide (the opening weekend box office was surpassed only by "Star Wars: Episode III"). Furthermore, the audience has skewed a little younger--drawing more young adults--than was predicted.

Another fascinating part of this is the lack of widespread protests surrounding the movie. Certainly there were picketers and some angry moments, but there was no formal worldwide boycott by the Catholic Church and certainly nothing like the huge, angry, violent protests a few months ago in reaction to cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a Danish newspaper.

As for the church, the decision to not boycott may be a good public relations move. According to a recent poll by Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates, a formal boycott of the film by the church would have been counterproductive. Some MC101s agreed, saying the film would have become a "must see" for them if it had been subjected to a formal worldwide boycott.