Double-O $even!
The world’s favorite suave superspy has been absent since 2008’s (arguably disappointing) QUANTUM OF SOLACE, but James Bond is back in a big way with SKYFALL, which crushed all previous Bond openings with an impressive $87.8 million (actually a $90M total when you include the Thursday IMAX previews).
While he took his time getting to North America, Daniel Craig and his latest sharp-dressed mission (which arrived to rave reviews) were on the international scene for a couple of weeks, and the movie has already crossed the half-billion dollar mark in global box office! That puts SKYFALL hot on the heels of the final worldwide totals of CASINO ROYALE ($594.2M) and QUANTUM OF SOLACE ($586.1M).
007 didn’t have to contend with any other new competitors in theaters, but last week’s winner WRECK-IT RALPH was a solid second with $33 million. Disney’s CG videogame villain-turned-hero is also approaching $100 million after 10 days of release. The overall box office might see a bonus boost on Monday from those who have the day off in honor of Veteran’s Day.
Denzel Washington’s Oscar-baiting FLIGHT landed in third with $15.1 million, while Ben Affleck’s ARGO stubbornly refuses to be pushed out of the Top 5 — at this rate, expect Affleck’s latest thriller to follow THE TOWN on a slow crawl to the $100 million mark.
Liam Neeson’s TAKEN 2 retains its spot on the list, while (in a tight fight on the botton half) the MMA comedy HERE COMES THE BOOM wrestled its way from ninth up to sixth, as RZA’s distinctly different mixed-martial arts flick THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS took a nearly 70% hit from last week’s opening.
Meanwhile, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 and SILENT HILL: REVELATION 3D got scared away from the Top 10, but PITCH PERFECT came back for an encore appearance in eighth place after dropping off the chart last week.
And Steven Spielberg’s LINCOLN was released on only 11 screens (the biopic has already grabbed $900k from just that handful of showings) to decidedly positive critical response and award buzz for star Daniel Day-Lewis, whose Abe expands onto 1500 screens next weekend.
Next weekend sees the sparkle-vampire epic come to a close with THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 2, while Spielberg’s LINCOLN opens wide and ANNA KARENINA and David O. Russell’s SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK see limited release.
What did you think of SKYFALL? VOTE HERE!
| # | MOVIE TITLE | WKND $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skyfall | $87.8 M | $90 M |
| 2 | Wreck-It Ralph | $33 M | $93.6 M |
| 3 | Flight | $15.1 M | $47.7 M |
| 4 | Argo | $6.7 M | $85.7 M |
| 5 | Taken 2 | $4 M | $131.2 M |
| 6 | Cloud Atlas | $2.5 M | $22.7 M |
| 7 | Here Comes the Boom | $2.5 M | $39 M |
| 8 | Pitch Perfect | $2.5 M | $59 M |
| 9 | The Man with the Iron Fists | $2.4 M | $12.7 M |
| 10 | Hotel Transylvania | $2.3 M | $140.9 M |