By Nikki Gusse
After four years off the silver screen James Bond made his triumphant return this weekend in “Skyfall”. The film grossed a truly massive $87.8 million in its first three days of showing and an additional $2.2 million in Thursday night previews. Globally the film has grossed $500 million in total box office after just two weeks of showing.
“Skyfall” shattered the previous opening weekend record for a Bond film, which was in 2008 when “Quantum of Solace” arched with $67.5 million. This make’s “Skyfalls” debut the best and most successful Bond series film in history by an enormous margin.
And as this Thanksgiving weekend ends, this straight “A” CinemaScore grade film is likely to become the first Bond movie to pass the $200 million mark at the box office.
Critics say there are several reasons the success of “Skyfall” was predicted imminent. Timing posed to be the biggest factor for the films overwhelming box office revenue.
Due to MGM’s financial afflictions the film started production behind schedule but it seems the delay might’ve worked out in ‘Skyfalls” favor. This delay made audiences, which were 60 percent male and 75 percent above the age of 25, extra-eager for the third Bond movie to debut.
Also the film launched during the 50th Anniversary of the Bond franchise, which has given the character significant popularity in 2012. In addition, Adele’s well-received theme song, which appeared as Num. 8 on Billboards Top 100, boosted the films publicity nicely.
Furthermore, Sony marketed this film aggressively over the past two months. Actor Daniel Craig, who plays James Bond in the film, acquired numerous endorsement deals that kept his public profile strong leading up to the release.
However, marketing and publicity efforts pale in comparison to the buzz and overall popularity that formed around “Skyfall”. The presence of director Sam Mendes and Oscar winner Javier Bardem gave this production a level of derivation, and early response to the film ranged from strong to exceptionally positive. “Skyfall” currently possesses a 93 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In other words, it seems the cards were in “Skyfalls” favor in earning true box office success.