After four years off of the silver screen, James Bond made his triumphant return this weekend in “Skyfall” and the British spy’s appeal was bigger than ever.
The action thriller grossed a truly massive $87.8 million in its first three days (and an additional $2.2 million during Thursday night previews), making its debut the very best in the Bond series’ 23-film history — by a huge margin.
“Skyfall” shattered the previous opening weekend record for a Bond film, which was set in 2008 when “Quantum of Solace” bowed with $67.5 million. With the lucrative Thanksgiving holiday on the horizon and a straight “A” CinemaScore grade, it’s likely that “Skyfall” will also become the first Bond movie to ever pass the $200 million mark at the domestic box office. (Of course, this is not accounting for inflation.)
Other movies at the box office held up well in the face of “Skyfall.” Disney’s animated “Wreck-It Ralph” finished in second place, dropping by a slim 33 percent to $33.1 million in its sophomore weekend. After 10 days, the $165 million videogame-themed comedy has grossed $93.7 million, and provided it isn’t utterly cannibalized by Dreamworks’ “Rise of the Guardians” (due November 21), it looks to be headed for a finish in the $175-200 million range.
“Wreck-It Ralph’s” weekend gross is particularly notable given the fact that it made “only” $7.8 million on Friday. Family films have a tendency to bring in booming bucks on Saturday and hold well on Sunday, and “Wreck-It Ralph” was no exception. It increased by a whopping 87 percent to $14.7 million on Saturday and eased just 29 percent to $10.5 million on Sunday.
Denzel Washington’s “Flight” descended into third place in its second frame, dropping 39 percent to $15.1 million — an impressive hold considering it shares an adult target audience with “Skyfall.” Paramount’s well-received $31 million drama has earned $47.8 million after ten days, and it’s vying to become Washington’s second $100 million earner in 2012 after “Safe House,” which grossed $126.2 million in February.
“Argo” held strong in fourth place in its fifth weekend of release. Warner Bros.’ $45 million Ben Affleck-directed feature dropped 34 percent to $6.7 million, bringing its domestic total to $85.7 million. Over the next few weeks, a slew of expected nominations and honors at end-of-the-year awards ceremonies should help push “Argo” right past $100 million.
Rounding out the top five was Fox’s “Taken 2,” which dipped 32 percent to $4 million and now has a strong $131.3 million total. The $45 million Liam Neeson thriller has proved powerful overseas as well — its international total stood at $217.1 million heading into the weekend.
1. “Skyfall” — $87.8 million
2. “Wreck-It Ralph” — $33.1 million
3. “Flight” — $15.1 million
4. “Argo” — $6.7 million
5. “Taken 2” — $4.0 million
In limited release, DreamWorks’ “Lincoln” got off to a tremendous start, earning $900,000 from 11 theaters in seven cities, enough for a stunning $81,818 per theater average.
The Steven Spielberg-helmed Oscar contender, which earned an “A” CinemaScore grade, will expand into about 1,500 locations next weekend, when it will face off against “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2,” which, based on early tracking reports, just may be the biggest “Twilight” movie of them all.