There is no definitive answer to that. Especially if you ask questions like, which kind of film - Kodachrome 25 slides or 100 ISO negative film? Also, since the noise characteristics of a digital camera is lower than a scanned film photo, is the perceived quality solely resolution-based?
I have many 16x20 prints from film. 35mm consumer-grade 100 ISO negative film at that size is decent, but the grain is starting to really show. As a guess, consider a minimum of 150dpi output for an equivalant quality print. At 16x20, that is a mere 7.2MPs; the current 6MPs are really close to this level. Use the more widely accepted 225dpi standard output and you need 16MPs of imagery, but my guess is that output would actually rival the best of the 35mm films out there.
Of course, If I was seriously aiming at big prints, I'd dust off my Mayima medium-format camera. Digital has a LONG ways before that level of performance is matched. Of course, the reason that that camera just collects dust is that it is a pain to use. Ease of use can be a powerful (de)motivator, I guess. Maybe I love digital so much, personally, 'cause I am lazy? Haven't thought of it that way before; digital is just way more fun despite its short comings!
-rdd
How many pixels do I need in a digital camera to produce a better
looking pictures than a 35mm? I sometimes order pictures as big as
16x20.