Director Ridley Scott has told British TV interviewer Jonathan Ross that Hannibal, the MGM sequel to The Silence of the Lambs, will have a massive opening on 4,700 screens on Feb. 9.

Scott noted that the film is set to open ten years "to the day" that the original film was released. "That's why we're going out then," Scott remarked. Actually, the film opened on Feb. 13, 1991 Scott added: "It's also a great time to run because there's nothing around."

The director also indicated that Hannibal may be somewhat different in tone from Lambs, which was helmed by Jonathan Demme. He said that he found the original book by Thomas Harris "quite witty" and that he tried to incorporate some of that humor into the film. "Hannibal's a very charming character and, of course, Anthony Hopkins is an incredibly charming man. That's part of who he is. He loves this character -- it's part of him."

Source: Studio Briefing