007 is Number 1!
Daniel Craig returned for a fourth mission as superspy James Bond and put SPECTRE on top at the box office with an estimated $73 million!
Although it couldn't beat the $88.3 million domestic debut of SKYFALL back in 2012, SPECTRE still had the second-biggest opening for an entry in the Bond franchise, ahead of QUANTUM OF SOLACE's $67.5 million start in 2008.
SPECTRE has also passed $300 million worldwide (on a budget rumored to be north of $250 million). SKYFALL ended up with a domestic total of $304 million and $1.1 billion worldwide, but it also received a much more positive critical reception than SPECTRE, currently at 62% on Rotten Tomatoes (compared to 93% for SKYFALL).
Opening in second was the new family feature THE PEANUTS MOVIE with $45 million. The computer-animated version of Charlie Brown and cartoonist Charles M. Schulz's other beloved characters came with a reported $100 million price tag, and scored an average of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Those two big new releases helped recover from last week's doldrums, which marked the lowest box office business weekend of the year.
The top three of last weekend just shifted down the chart to make way for the newcomers. THE MARTIAN moved to third (after its second two-week run on top) with $9.3 million as it reaches for $200 million domestic. GOOSEBUMPS was in fourth with $6.9 million, and its $66.4 million domestic total actually makes it the biggest horror-themed release of the year. The latest Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks collaboration BRIDGE OF SPIES was in fifth with $6 million.
Adam Sandler's HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 landed in sixth with $3.5 million as it enjoyed its seventh weekend in the Top 10, followed by Bradley Cooper's chef drama BURNT with $3 million, down 40% from its already-low opening last weekend. Vin Diesel's action-fantasy THE LAST WITCH HUNTER was in eighth with $2.6 million.
After slipping out of sight last weekend, THE INTERN returned to the list with $1.8 million for ninth place. The PG-13 Anne Hathaway/Robert De Niro comedy has now made more than $180 million worldwide. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE GHOST DIMENSION closed out the Top 10 with $1.6 million.
Outside the chart, STEVE JOBS and Guillermo del Toro's CRIMSON PEAK dropped away with the Sandra Bullock political satire OUR BRAND IS CRISIS, which lasted a single weekend in the Top 10. For new limited releases, the Catholic church sex scandal SPOTLIGHT had a strong $60k per-screen average, while the equally award-buzzed Saoirse Ronan immigration drama BROOKLYN made $36k per-screen.
Additionally, the Bryan Cranston blacklist drama TRUMBO had a $15k per-screen average, and the Catherine Hardwicke-directed MISS YOU ALREADY with Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette opened on 384 screens for $572k.
Next weekend brings the story of the Chilean miner catastrophe THE 33 with Antonio Banderas, plus the holiday comedy LOVE THE COOPERS and the limited release of Angelina Jolie's drama BY THE SEA.
What is your favorite James Bond movie? VOTE HERE!
| # | MOVIE TITLE | WKND $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spectre | $73 M | NEW |
| 2 | The Peanuts Movie | $45 M | NEW |
| 3 | The Martian | $9.3 M | $197 M |
| 4 | Goosebumps | $6.9 M | $66.4 M |
| 5 | Bridge of Spies | $6 M | $54.9 M |
| 6 | Burnt | $3 M | $10.2 M |
| 7 | Hotel Transylvania 2 | $3.5 M | $161.2 M |
| 8 | The Last Witch Hunter | $2.6 M | $23.5 M |
| 9 | The Intern | $1.8 M | $71.4 M |
| 10 | Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension | $1.6 M | $16.2 M |
