As expected, James Bond topped the box office as his 24th movie adventure pulled in the crowds. Spectre opened to $73 million, including $5.3 million from its Thursday night shows, for a per-venue average of a strong $18,580. That isn't quite as strong as Skyfall, which opened to $88 million back in November 2012, but it is a few points ahead of Quantum of Solace ($67 million). Overall, this opening nothing to scoff at. The only thing that may put some dents in the Ferrari is that the budget here was an outrageous $260 million (and that doesn't include marketing!), so it will need a ton of cash overseas in order to turn a profit. With mixed-to-positive reception (62% on Rotten Tomatoes), this wasn't ever expected to replicate the success of its acclaimed (93% on RT) predecessor. Bond movies are usually somewhat front-loaded, despite an "A-" CinemaScore pulled in here. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part II will likely take some steam out of it in two weeks.Overseas, however, is where Spectre is strongly thriving. The latest Bond pulled in a huge $118 million from 76 countries, and that's after $82 million pulled in the U.K. last week. The overseas total hit $200 million, and the worldwide gross a stunning $270 million in just two weeks. Many markets paced ahead of Skyfall. That movie closed with over $1 billion worldwide. At this early in the game, its' difficult to pinpoint if Spectre will do the same. But, at this pace, $700 million (at least) is guaranteed (China opens next week).
Meanwhile, opening in line with pre-release expectations at #2 was The Peanuts Movie. The anticipated adaptation of the classic Charles Schulz comic strips and TV specials opened to $45 million, for a per-venue average of a solid $11,547. Compared to early-November animated movies, Peanuts opened in line with MegaMind ($46 million) from 2010. Its' also par for the course for Blue Sky Studios, who enjoyed similar openings for Rio ($43 million), Epic ($43 million 4-day start) and Ice Age: Continental Drift ($47 million). All in all, this is a successful opening for a media franchise that has been running for now a half-century (A Charlie Brown Christmas first premiered in 1965). Reviews were great (86% on Rotten Tomatoes), while the CinemaScore was a strong "A". The film will have the next two weekends with family audiences to itself before Pixar's The Good Dinosaur opens over Thanksgiving. Even then, with the early strong word-of-mouth, look for this to hold well through November, and even through December if it can hold onto its screens. (I'm seeing it tomorrow, very excited about it! :) )
Early overseas results are mild (a rare same-day start in China yielded disappointing results), but the Peanuts franchise isn't incredibly well-known overseas. Fox and Blue Sky produced the flick for $100 million. Assuming it finishes around $350-400 million worldwide, all should wind up on the sunny side for everyone involved.
Despite the one-two punch of new films entering the marketplace, most fall holdovers were surprisingly, relatively unaffected. Leading the charge was The Martian, which was off just 21% in its sixth weekend to $9.3 million. Ridley Scott and Matt Damon have earned a strong $197.1 million in 37 days, and may remain on this list through Thanksgiving. The outer space thriller has also earned over $450 million worldwide.
Even with Halloween already gone and added competition factored in, Goosebumps surprisingly continued to play well. The adaptation of R.L. Stine's books was off just 29% to $7 million, for a very solid $66.4 million pick-up in 24 days. Goosebumps doesn't roll out in most overseas markets until next year, but it stands a good chance at finishing in the $80-85 million range.
Bridge of Spies also continued holding well, off just 28% in its fourth go-round to $6.1 million. Steven Spielberg's critically-adored thriller has earned a solid $55 million in 24 days, and should it continue to hold well, could end up with a finish in the $75-80 million vicinity, or five times its $15 million budget. Hotel Transylvania 2 followed, and despite added competition from another animated film, also continued to play, off 39% in its seventh frame to $3.6 million. The hit sequel is at a strong $161.3 million in 49 days, and has passed $400 million worldwide (passing its' predecessor's final worldwide gross of $358 million in the process).
Burnt had a decent second weekend hold, off 40% to $3 million, for a still-disappointing $10.2 million pick-up in 10 days. Bradley Cooper's cooking drama will have to scratch and claw to get to $20 million. The Last Witch Hunter followed with a 49% drop to $2.7 million, for a mediocre $23.6 million gross in 17 days (it has earned $60 million overseas so far).
The Intern jumped back into the Top 10 in its seventh frame, and was off just 25% to $1.8 million. The Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway romantic dramedy has earned a good $71.4 million in 49 days, and $180 million worldwide. Rounding out the Top 10 in its third frame was Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, which fell 52% on the eve of its VOD debut to $1.65 million. The final installment in the horror franchise has earned a disappointing $16.3 million in 17 days, and another $50 million overseas.
Next weekend will still be about this weekend's two big openers, as the new releases aren't expected to make much of a dent. Chilean miner thriller The 33 and Christmas-themed comedy Love the Coopers both debut and aren't expected to make much noise. It will be the calm before The Hunger Games storm once again...
