Sam Mendes' James Bond feature “Skyfall” seduces the North American box office with an $87.8 million debut.
MGM and Sony's Skyfall nabbed the biggest domestic opening for a James Bond feature ever, bringing in a record-breaking $87.8 million for the 50-year-old franchise, and marking Sony’s ninth number one opening this year. Overseas, where the film began rolling out two weeks ago, Skyfall brought in $89 million for an international total of $428.6 million.
Disney Animation Studios' Wreck-It Ralph continued to be a box-office hit, coming in number two for the weekend with $33.1 million for a domestic total of $93.7 million. The 3D animated feature earned another $11.2 million overseas for a global total of $120 million.
Paramount's awards hopeful Flight, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Denzel Washington, came in number three in its second weekend out, grossing $15.1 million for a domestic total of $47.8 million.
Ben Affleck's Argo grossed $6.7 million to place number four. The Warner Bros. feature has earned $85.7 million domestically.
Taken 2, from 20th Century Fox and EuropaCorp, placed number five on the charts, earning $4 million for a domestic total of $131.2 million.
Sony family comedy Here Comes the Boom came in sixth place, making $2.6 million on its fifth weekend out for a total of $39.1 million.
Cloud Atlas came in seventh place this weekend, earning $2.5 million for a domestic total of $22.7 million.
Universal musical comedy Pitch Perfect placed number eight on its seventh weekend out, earning $2.5 million for a total of $59 million.
RZA's directorial debut starring Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu, The Man with the Iron Fists, came in ninth place on its sophomore weekend out, earning $2.5 million for a total of $12.7 million.
Rounding out the list at number 10, Sony’s animated feature Hotel Transylvania brought in $2.4 million for a total of $140.9 million.
Opening in only 11 cities before it expands nationwide on Friday, Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, starring Daniel Day Lewis as the 16th president, brought in $900,000 for a location average of $81,818. The DreamWorks film, which has earned strong reviews, is distributed domestically by Disney.
Box office numbers were obtained on boxofficemojo.com.
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
