Pirated version of 'Da Vinci Code' appears on Beijing streets

Pirated copies of "The Da Vinci Code" appeared on the streets of China's capital on Tuesday, hot on the heels of its general release here. "Da Vinci" was given the widest release yet for a foreign film in China, with some 393 prints sent to theaters over the weekend, breaking the record of 380 prints set by "King Kong" last year, according to its distributor.

Photo: Pirated version of 'Da Vinci Code' appears on Beijing streets

But such a wide release likely only helped the pirates find a theater where they could shoot their copy directly off the big screen. A pirated DVD obtained by The Associated Press on a downtown Beijing street appeared to have been shot in a cinema with a hand-held camera, the Mandarin subtitles hazy but still visible. The packaging looked authentic, although the credits listed actors from another film, "Moulin Rouge."

Anticipation for the "The Da Vinci Code" was fueled by the popularity of the Chinese version of the book. Some 1.2 million legal copies and millions more pirated copies have been sold.

The film garnered some US$224 million (175.45 million) worldwide, according to Sony Pictures. Revenue in China was estimated at US$5 million (3.9 million), the official Xinhua News Agency reported. On Monday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, asked about China's compliance with piracy laws, said, "We've made a lot of efforts, but on intellectual property rights we still face many problems", reports the AP.

N.U.