The answer is "it depends". With some films, the limitation was the lens for all practical purposes, just as it is with the extreme-resolution DSLRs today. Kodak Technical Pan shot at ISO 16 (yes, 16) could easily resolve 150 line pairs per millimetre, which would give it a Nyquist equivalent of just under 80 MP in the 135 (35mm) format. Kodak's Ektar 25 colour print film (shot at 20) and Kodachrome 25 slide film (shot at 32 or 40) would easily beat a 24MP sensor if all else were equal -- but all else isn't equal.

Note that those amazing, digital-ain't-there-yet resolutions are all coming from films that are, well, slow as molasses in January. And that every single one of those films has been discontinued. At ISO 100, even with the best, most-lauded films, it's a coin toss -- you can get a better tonal scale with film (analog response does that for you) but sharpness is already going to the digital camera (as long as the antialiasing filter, if present, isn't too strong). At speeds over 100 (for an equivalent-sized sensor/film cell), things are already beginning to go firmly in the direction of digital. 400-speed (colour) film was something a pro would use to get a grainy, romantic, sentimental look. ISO 400 is just another setting on a DSLR, with noise just beginning to be noticeable to people who are specifically looking for it (and that noise can be removed rather cleanly from the images most current-model cameras produce). And you don't need to spend five grand on a Fuji enlarger lens to print a decent 11x14 -- an Epson or Canon printer costing around 300 bucks will probably do a better job.

So yeah, digital isn't quite up to the best that film could do yet. But then film is no longer up to the best that film could do either. If ultimate resolution and smooth tonality are that important to you, you can always sell your house, move into a trailer and buy a Phase One IQ180 (it's only 50 grand, but you'll probably want a camera body and at least one lens to go with it).