索尼公司根据丹·布朗同名畅销小说改编的悬疑惊悚片《达·芬奇密码》已经敲定由汤姆·汉克斯主演。这也是本片导演郎·霍华德、制片人布莱恩·格雷泽和汤姆·汉克斯的第三次合作。

Actor Tom Hanks is being lined up to star in the movie adaptation of the best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code. Director Ron Howard, who won an Oscar for A Beautiful Mind, said Hanks was the man he wanted to play Professor Robert Langdon in the thriller.

"Tom is an exciting actor to watch thinking," Howard told Newsweek.

Meanwhile, Hanks' animated Christmas tale The Polar Express set a $2.1m (￡1.1m) record for the biggest opening at Imax cinemas in the US.

The film, which was shown on the giant screens of 59 Imax cinemas, beat the previous records of movies including Harry Potter and the Matrix sequels.

"We're extremely pleased in terms of its absolute performance in Imax," said co-chief executive Brad Wechsler.

"We've set a new weekend record for us, we've had a ton of sold-out shows and our advance sales to consumers have been great."

The film, which is said to have cost $270m (￡189.3m) to make, was directed by Forrest Gump's Robert Zemeckis with Hanks as an executive producer.

But The Polar Express failed to make a dent in the fortunes of the Pixar/Disney adventure The Incredibles which has remained at the top of the box office chart.

Hanks is one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, with his presence in a movie almost guaranteeing box office success.

Hanks' representatives confirmed he was in negotiations to work on The Da Vinci Code, which would see him once again team up with Howard, who directed Hanks in Splash and Apollo 13.

The book by Dan Brown has become a publishing phenomenon, consistently topping book charts in the UK and US.

The proposed movie adaptation would almost certainly be a hit, with or without Hanks.

"We probably don't need his (Hanks') status from a box-office standpoint, but he gives Langdon instant legitimacy," said Howard.