Angels & Demons (film) with author Dan Brown. In May 2006, following the release of the 2006 film adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code", Sony Pictures hired screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, who wrote the film adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code", to adapt "Angels & Demons". Filming was originally to begin in February 2008 and was originally going to be released on December 19, 2008, but because of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, the film was pushed back for May 15, 2009. David Koepp rewrote the script before shooting began. Director Ron Howard chose to treat "Angels & Demons" as a sequel to
The Da Vinci Code (film) critics gave mixed to negative reviews of the film, critics praised the performances of McKellen as well as Bettany. On the "Worst Movies of 2006" episode of the television show "Ebert & Roeper" (January 13, 2007), guest critic Michael Phillips (sitting in for the recovering Roger Ebert) listed the film at 2. The film earned a Razzie Award nomination for Ron Howard as Worst Director, but lost to M. Night Shyamalan for "Lady in the Water". The film opened with an estimated $31 million in box office sales on its opening day, averaging $7,764 per screen. During its opening weekend,