Having live-action movies made about his books is no small feat; more so is having an iconic academy award-winning actor like Tom Hanks play his lead protagonist. The movie adaptations of Dan Brown’s books were huge successes at the box office, owing to the global audience it has attracted and the massive fan-following the Robert Langdon series has received over the years.
The Da Vinci Code
Based on the second book in the Robert Langdon series, ‘The Da Vinci Code ‘ directed by Ron Howard, is the first in the Robert Langdon film series and stars Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu and Sir Ian McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing.
The film, like the book, was considered controversial and was met with especially harsh criticism by the Catholic Church for the accusation that it was behind a two-thousand-year-old cover-up concerning the Holy Grail. But notwithstanding, the film grossed $224 million in its worldwide opening weekend and a total of $760 million worldwide, becoming the second highest-grossing film of 2006, as well as Howard’s highest-grossing film to date.
Here are some fun facts about ‘The Da Vinci Code’ movie:
- Dan brown sold the movie rights for $6 million.
- The Louvre Paris museum allowed the shooting of relevant scenes on its premises but refused for the original ‘Monalisa‘ to be used. So a replica of the ‘Monalisa‘ was used.
- ‘The Da Vinci Code‘ premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2006, and according to the Associated Press, the film received negative reactions from critics at the festival.
- The film was banned in a number of countries like Syria, Jordan, Manilla etc., for contradicting the truth as written in the Bible and the Quran about Jesus
- There were protesters at several film theatres across the United States on the opening weekend protesting about the themes of the film, citing it as blasphemy and claiming that it shamed both the Catholic Church and Jesus Christ himself.
- The film grossed $224 million in its opening weekend and a total of $760 million worldwide.
Angels and Demons
Also Directed by Ron Howard, ‘Angels and Demons’ is the second installment in the Robert Langdon film series. Filming took place in Rome and the Sony studios in California and once again stars Tom Hanks as Professor Robert Langdon, while Ayelet Zurer stars as Dr Vittoria Vetra.
Director Ron Howard chose to treat ‘Angels and Demons’ as a sequel to the previous ‘The Da Vinci Code’ movie, rather than a prequel since many had read the novel after ‘The Da Vinci Code’. Also, there were quite a number of differences between the movie and the novel, such as:
- The character of CERN Director Maximillian Kohler does not appear in the film.
- Vittoria is a love interest for Langdon in the novel, while there is no attraction present in the film.
- In the novel, Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca is revealed to be the late pope’s biological son, while in the film, he is his adoptive son.
- In the novel, the assassin contacts members of the BBC in order to influence how they present the story of his activities, but this does not happen in the film.
- In the book, all four preferiti are killed by the assassin, and eventually, the high elector, Cardinal Saverio Mortati is elected as the new pope, whereas in the film, the fourth preferito, Cardinal Baggia, is saved by Langdon and is elected the new pope.
The movie was released on November 24, 2009. Despite the poor reviews it had, it did amazingly well at the box office with a worldwide gross of $485,930,810, making it the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2009.
Inferno
Once again directed by Ron Howard, ‘Inferno‘ is the third addition to the Robert Langdon film series. It stars Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, alongside Felicity Jones as Dr Sienna Brooks and just like the book, the movie received very negative reviews, but it still grossed $220 million against a production budget of $75 million.
Filming began on April 27, 2015, and was done in Venice, Italy, and Budapest, Hungary. After filming ended on July 21, 2015, the movie was set to be released on December 18, 2015, but due to the date clash with ‘Star Wars- The Force Awakens,’ the release date was moved to October 14, 2016, and further moved to October 28th, 2016.
Of the three Robert Langdon film series directed by Ron Howard, it generated the lowest revenue.
The Lost Symbol
Unlike the previous movie adaptations of Dan Brown’s works, ‘Lost Symbol’ was adapted for television in the form of a miniseries that premiered on September 16, 2021. In contrast with the book, the series present a much younger Professor, Robert Langdon, who is hired by the CIA to solve a number of deadly puzzles after DC personality, and freemason member Peter Solomon goes missing.
It was originally developed as a film to have starred Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon and to be produced and directed by Ron Howard for Columbia Pictures, but In July 2013, Sony Pictures announced they would instead go with adapting ‘Inferno’ to be released in 2016. In March 2021, it was announced as a series by Peacock – a streaming service division of NBC – and was directed by Dan Trachtenberg.
Despite its promising reviews, the show was canceled on January 24, 2022, after its first season.
FAQS
How many Dan Brown Books have movies?
There have been TV adaptations for 4 of Dan Brown’s works, all from the Robert Langdon series.
What are Dan Brown’s hobbies?
Dan Brown has had a huge interest in treasure-hunting activities, puzzle-solving, and riddles-related activities ever since he was a child.
Who is Robert Langdon modeled after?
Dan Brown said that Joseph Campbell, an American writer and professor of literature who worked on comparative mythology and comparative religion, was an inspiration for the character of Langdon.
