Skyfall is expected to surpass 2008’s Quantum of Solace when it opens this weekend, which would make it the highest-grossing first weekend for a James Bond film ever.
A movie franchise that is now 50 years old, James Bond has held its popularity better than much younger films. This Friday, Skyfall, the newest in the series, will open, and it may be the biggest one yet.
Daniel Craig will be playing 007 for the third time in Skyfall, directed by Sam Mendes. the Hollywood Reporter is predicting the film could hit $70 million over the weekend. The last Bond film, Quantum of Solace, brought in $67.5 million its first weekend out in 2008. And if Skyfall’s opening overseas is any indication, it will at least hit that target.
“Skyfall‘s prospects are buoyed by its massive showing overseas, where it began rolling out two weeks ago,” said the Hollywood Reporter. “The Eon Productions movie, from Sony and MGM, has earned nearly $300 million to date, pacing well ahead of Quantum and Casino Royale in most markets.”
The film’s studio, Sony, is guessing it will bring in only $67 million, mostly because Hurricane Sandy’s destruction has closed some theaters on the East Coast. Online ticket company Fandango is reporting that early ticket sales for the film are already double what Quantum of Solace‘s were at this point, but Fandango was also much smaller back in 2008, so this may not be a good indicator.
“The critically acclaimed Skyfall opens in IMAX and on other large-format screens at 12:01 a.m. Thursday (Sony isn’t providing an exact location count). It opens everywhere at 12:01 a.m. Friday,” said the Hollywood Reporter.
Another film opening in limited release this weekend is the long-awaited Steven Spielberg film Lincoln, starring Daniel Day-Lewis. Even though it opens nationally on Nov. 16, people in 11 lucky cities will be able to see the film this weekend. The early opening is hoping to benefit from this week’s presidential election.
Lincoln also stars Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tommy Lee Jones.
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