The new James Bond film “Spectre” was No. 1 at the box office and opened to an estimated $73 million in the U.S. and Canada. That’s the second biggest debut in the James Bond series, but well behind 2012’s “Skyfall,” which also starred Daniel Craig and was directed by Sam Mendes and took in $88.4 million its first weekend.
Early international returns have broken records in Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, indicating that Americans are a little cooler on Bond’s latest big screen foray. The movie may have been impacted by many negative reviews, a change from “Skyfall.”
Distributor Sony Pictures Entertainment and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. spent about $250 million to make “Spectre,” vs. $209 million on “Skyfall.”
The weekend’s other new film playing nationwide was “The Peanuts Movie,” an animated return to the screen for Charlie Brown and his friends. With largely positive reviews, it opened at No. 2 with $45 million, a good but not great number for a franchise that’s new to most kids.
Elie Chahine 