Turn off the Lights

Bond Busts Box Office with ‘Skyfall’

With 50 years in the bank and still going strong, Daniel Craig’s third outing as international spy 007 in Skyfall scored by far the highest debut in the franchise even when adjusting for inflation over the past half century. 

Over the three-day weekend, Skyfall surged to $88.4 million (and $90.6 million with Thursday previews), which represents a 31-percent increase over Quantum of Solace and a huge 116-percent jump over the acclaimed debut of Craig in Casino Royale. It’s quite clear a new Bond has been solidified on a global scale.

On said international plane, Skyfall has amassed an amazing $518.4 million globally. With Japan and China still to open, not to mention all the residual grosses from what should be great forthcoming holds Stateside, this Bond adventure is destined for $800 million worldwide. 

Following a great start last week, Wreck-It Ralph held up wonderfully, dipping by only a third to $33 million and posting a strong cuem of $93.6-million domestic, $119.9 worldwide. With competition remaining scarce, the Disney flick should hold up well and is currently on par with Tangled, which reached $200 million in North America

The Top 10

1. Skyfall - $88.4M (weekend)…$90.6M (gross)
2. Wreck-It Ralph - $33.0M…$93.6M
3. Flight - $14.8M…$47.5M
4. Argo - $6.6M…$85.6M
5. Taken 2 - $4.0M…$131.3M
6. Cloud Atlas - $2.7M…$22.8M
7. The Man with the Iron Fists - $2.6M…$12.8M
8. Pitch Perfect - $2.6M…$59.1M
9. Here Comes the Boom - $2.5M…$39.0M
10. Hotel Transylvania - $2.4M…$140.9M

 

Also holding well despite competition from Skyfall and no significant expansion, Denzel Washington’s Flight fell by about 41 percent to $14.8 million and a great early $47.5-million cume. Even without more theaters having been added, a tidy total should result especially considering the modest budget thanks to pay cuts from director and star. 

In just 11 theaters, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln opened to a red hot $944,308, which indicates good things ahead for its wide expansion this coming weekend. The one big question is if it’s growing too fast, as evidenced by the scorching debut of The Fighter in limited release, but only a so-so wide debut (legs made up the difference however and should so to for Lincoln). 

Along with the aforementioned Lincoln, which expands into about 1,500 locations, the final, final instalment of The Twilight Saga, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, crashes into more than 4,000 theaters, and will undoubtedly take the number one spot for an opening weekend gross well north of $100 million.

Comments

Meet the Author

Follow Us