Fresh from its massive UK launch last week, Spectre has arrived in US cinemas with much fanfare and claimed the top spot at the box office. Earlier predictions had the movie in the mid $80 million bracket, but the latest figures from Box Office Mojo indicated that a $70.4 million opening is more accurate.
Spectre has had a mixed response from critics, some have cited it has a standout, others say it’s formulaic and a step back for the franchise. The US debut of the latest Bond will come as a bit of a disappointment for the producers, Skyfall managed a franchise best opening of $88 million and a US total of more than $300 million. As you know, Skyfall went on the become the first Bond movie to make $1 billion worldwide and Sony are banking on Spectre doing the same.
The end credits of Spectre include the expected ‘James Bond Will Return’ tag, but the future of the super spy is in fluctuation. The rights for Bond are up for grabs again as Sony’s deal has run its course, while they may still retain the rights, ending the Sony partnership might not be a bad thing for the franchise. Every major studio will be putting the feelers out there, so we will have to wait and see who wins the jackpot. Despite the huge box office takings, the Bond movies are very expensive to make with Spectre costing a reported $250 million. Product placement helps pay for the lavish set pieces, but the latest Bond adventure left me a little cold.
The US launch might have been a little bellow what Sony were expecting, but the international box office tells a very different tale. Here in the UK Spectre has taken £65.5 million so far, Skyfall at the same point had £61.6 million in the bank. Spectre has currently amassed more than $300 million worldwide and is outpacing Skyfall in many key territories.
The other wide new release was the long awaited Peanuts Movie (aka Snoopy and Charlie Brown), nostalgia and positive word of mouth saw The Peanuts make an estimated $45 million. You can expect a sequel announcement before the end of the year. Ridley Scott’s The Martian dropped to third place and has now become the highest grossing Ridley Scott movie of all time.
