“Skyfall” blew away its foes and Daniel Craig obliterated his predecessors with a record-setting opening for a James Bond movie of $87.8 million this weekend, plus another $2.2 million from special exclusive preview runs at 463 IMAX and select locations on Thursday, adding up to a combined total of more than $90 million.
The previous domestic opening weekend record was $67.5 mil. for the last 007 mission four years ago with “Quantum of Solace.” Daniel Craig’s first outing as James Bond in “Casino Royale,” previously considered one of the strongest in the series, opened at less than $41 mil.
Worldwide, MGM’s “Skyfall,” distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment, had already collected $346.8 mil, overseas before this weekend’s opening in the U.S., and now has a global total of $518.6 mil.
(Read full “Skyfall” review here.)
Thanks to the first-ever presentation on IMAX’s giant screen theaters, “Skyfall” was already literally the biggest Bond movie ever. Now it is also the biggest-grossing installment of the 23-episode franchise over 50 years. IMAX, with it’s approximate $3 premium ticket price, accounted for 15% of this weekend’s haul on 32o screens in North America, or about $12.75 mil. — the biggest non-summer opening in IMAX’s 45-year history, according to IMAX, and another $2.7 million in 127 IMAX theatres internationally, reaching approximately $14.5 million after 17 days of international release. Total global IMAX box-office for “Skyfall” is now $27.25 mil.
Nine of the top 10 North American locations for “Skyfall” are IMAX theaters, according to Hollywood.com/Boxoffice.
Meanwhile, Disney’s 3D animated “Wreck-It Ralph” enjoyed a small decline of only 33% to an estimated $33.1 mil., for a 10-day total of $93.7 mil. in the U.S., according to BoxOfficeGuru.com.
— By Scott Hettrick
Stan Robinson; Film Columnist; AZ Weekly Entertainment Magazine-Phoenix, AZ
“As a ‘boomer’ growing up with James Bond and Sean Connery as my Bond favorite, reading all of the original Ian Fleming books while in high school, and growing over the last 50 years as the various ‘Men Who Would Be Bond’, a tease for my three part special, were presented, this third installment with Daniel Craig as Bond works. Director Sam Mendes presents the basics of the story, thrilling action sequences, and the ultimate surprise as new actors are installed as key characters for this next generation of Bond moviegoers.” (Grade: B)