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Bond brings it

Kim Hollis: Skyfall opened to a blistering $88.4 million over the weekend, besting the previous franchise opening weekend record by a full $20 million. What are your thoughts on this performance?

Matthew Huntley: A few reasons why this happened, most of them obvious (and therefore why I'm not too surprised by this still-sensational figure): 1) It's been four years since the last Bond picture and audiences were clearly in the mood to release their pent up anticipation; 2) For the most part, the last film in the franchise - Quantum of Solace - disappointed, and fans wanted to make sure Skyfall redeemed it somehow; and given the reviews and exit polls, it did just that; 3) the marketing/advertising for this film was EVERYWHERE; in fact, this may have been the most prolific movie campaign in recent memory. Bond invaded pre-movie commercials, watch ads, beer ads, car ads, etc. Seems like you couldn't go anywhere without seeing a reference to the character. So while $88 million is amazing, it's not exactly dumbfounding.

Jason Barney: This is an outstanding opening here in the states considering the film has already matched its budget based on the results from overseas. The $150- 200 million budget was surpassed a while ago in foreign markets, so anything done here in the U.S. is gravy. This is another example of how some films have a better appeal to a broader audience, more than just Americans. It certainly matters how well a movie does in the U.S, but studios are really starting to understand the value of their product outside U.S. borders. $88 million here is a great opening, considering it is the best for the Bond franchise, but the real success is the take from foreigners. It has ALREADY taken in over $420 million from outside the United States. The 93% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes is going to help. At this point it doesn't matter what is opening next weekend, as Bond has made a mountain of money and the holiday season numbers are looking very strong. This is going to be a huge success.

Edwin Davies: This is pretty spectacular any way you cut it. In terms of the general box office, it's the biggest opening weekend we've seen since The Dark Knight Rises back in July - though it will no doubt be surpassed by Breaking Dawn: Part Deux next week - and in terms of the Bond series it's a big step up from Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale. It's also indicative of what a unique franchise Bond is, since it's managed to not only survive a very dodgy entry in the form of Quantum, but far surpassed it. Conventional wisdom would have us think that the follow-up to a generally disliked previous film would see a decline, even if the reviews were good. There are other factors at play, such as the strong international response, which probably helped build anticipation, not to mention the all-consuming advertising campaign, but I think this result demonstrates the resilience and iconic nature of the character that the series has come back so strongly.

Going forward, I think Skyfall will easily overtake Quantum of Solace to be the biggest film of the series, even if it doesn't have particularly strong legs. If it holds well, then it could make upwards of $250 million, which would be simply astonishing.

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