The Great "Code" Rush

By Carolina A. Miranda Sunday, May 16, 2004
    • With more than 7.3 million copies in print and 59 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code is much more than a mere publishing phenomenon. The controversial theories about Jesus' life woven into its plot have generated enough interest to spawn an information industry of sorts. Here's how some entrepreneurs are cashing in on the global Code craze.

    The Big Picture
    Director Ron Howard, left, and the team behind the Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind are at work on a Da Vinci Code movie, due out next year.

    The First Supper
    Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington, Ky., has been the host for Code-themed dinners, and is having a tough time keeping up with the demand. It has held four such events at $30 a head. Each sold out. More are planned.

    Up for Debate
    Organizers of forums on the novel's underlying theology often have to turn people away. Brigham Young University Museum of Art has held four lectures, and is selling a DVD set of the proceedings for $35.

    Da Vinci Tours
    Many pieces at the Louvre figure prominently in the book. So travel operator Paris Muse offers a popular Da Vinci Code museum tour for $130.

    Academic Analyses
    Publishers have rushed to print scholarly tomes analyzing Da Vinci minutiae. One of them, Secrets of the Code (CDS Books), is already a Times best seller.

    Religious Responses
    Christian publishers have churned out more than half a dozen books refuting the Code. One of them, Breaking the Da Vinci Code (Thomas Nelson), is also a best seller.