# The Da Vinci Code

> Doubleday reported more than 85 million copies of the novel sold worldwide.

- Owner: Dan Brown (author); Doubleday / Random House (US publisher)
- Kind: Book
- Sector: Media & publishing
- Seed date: 2003-03-18
- Peak proxy date: May 2006
- Date basis: Proxy date; not a directly measured attention peak. Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.
- Spread Score: 48 (Notable, provisional), v1.2
- Mechanics: Underdog, Controversy, Platform jump, Dupe economy

## Summary

Doubleday primed booksellers with advance copies and planned ads. Rebuttals, TV coverage and visits to story locations widened the audience before the film adaptation. The publisher now claims more than 85 million book sales worldwide.

## Timeline

- 2003-01-27 — Doubleday (Retail) — Doubleday had distributed 5,000 advance copies and ordered 4,500 more, with print ads planned.
- 2003-03-18 — Doubleday / Dan Brown (Retail) — Doubleday published Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code in hardcover.
- 2003-04-02 — Publishers Weekly (Press) — Publishers Weekly reported a No. 1 chart debut after about a week on sale.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/the-da-vinci-code

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “The Da Vinci Code.” Case HIS-01303. Spread Score v1.2: 48/100. Updated 2026-10-22. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01303