‘Omen’ Conjures Up a Record Opening

Don’t tell Satan, but apparently 666 is a good number -- at least it was for 20th Century Fox and its new movie, “The Omen.”

News Corp.’s Fox said the remake about a boy who is a spawn of the devil opened to a record-setting $12.6 million at U.S. box offices -- the most money collected by a movie with a Tuesday debut.

Fox deliberately opened “The Omen” on June 6, 2006, and devised an advertising campaign around that date -- 6-6-06.

The number, 666, is referred to in Christianity as the mark of the devil, and in “The Omen,” 5-year-old Damien Thorn has that number branded on him.

Boxofficemojo.com, which charts box-office openings, said that the previous champ for an opening on a Tuesday was the boxing film, “Ali,” which collected $10.2 million on Christmas Day in 2001.