Film Guide reports that this weekend’s new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, debuted to a franchise record $70 mil in the United States and Canada. That is well above the $60 mil projected. Many had feared with a shaky economy and other issues that Quantum might have a hard time ringing up a profit.
Olga Kurylenko
“Critics seemed shaken by its nonstop mayhem, but moviegoers were stirred to support “Quantum of Solace” in franchise-record numbers during the weekend as the James Bond film bowed with an estimated $70.4 million in domestic grosses.
A 22nd installment in the lucrative 007 franchise, now the joint property of Sony and MGM, the Daniel Craig starrer opened two frames earlier in many foreign territories and totes a $252 million international cume. Sony is handling physical distribution of the film worldwide, but MGM was a 50-50 participant in its $200 million in production costs.
The previous-best domestic debut for a Bond film was the $47.1 million registered by 2002’s “Die Another Day.” The franchise’s top domestic theatrical run has been charted by “Solace” predecessor “Casino Royale,” which rung up $167.4 million in U.S. and Canadian coin after unspooling in November 2006.
“Solace,” Craig’s second outing as 007, had been set to bow Nov. 7 domestically. But studio executives decided to hold it back a week after Warner Bros. moved “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” from November to July, so the Sony-MGM film could debut closer to the lucrative Thanksgiving period.
The outsized domestic opening for “Solace” exceeded even the high end of prerelease projections and was aided by positive global buzz. Craig’s industry star has received an immense boost in the process as moviegoers clearly have taken to him in the iconic Bond role.
“Audiences have embraced him, and domestic audiences were champing at the bit for the film,” Sony distribution president Rory Bruer said. “It’s certainly gratifying, to say the least.”
Daniel Craig and Gemma Atkinson
Reuters reports that around the world Bond is King. Folks are embracing the new Bond in Daniel Craig if ticket sales are any indication.
“Quantum of Solace” and its 2006 predecessor “Casino Royale,” which opened to $40.8 million, starred Daniel Craig. The laconic English actor has invested the famed agent with a darker, more complicated personality.
The new film also earned $56.1 million in 73 countries during the weekend. Having begun its international run two weeks ago, the foreign total now stands at $251.6 million. With a worldwide haul of $322 million, the film is fast approaching the $594 million tally of “Casino Royale.”
