Weekend Box Office: Skyfall Soars High On Record Breaking Weekend

Some attribute this weekend's record breaking opening of Skyfall to timing, as the movie breaks the doldrums of a very slow, dull October. Others suggest it's all the high end marketing and critical buzz around the latest Bond flick. Personally I'm giving credit to Adele for her near-chart-topping Bond song. Whatever explanations might be true, they had audiences packing out theaters this weekend to see what is being hailed as the best Bond movie ever.

With almost $88 million in the bank on its opening weekend, Skyfall enjoyed the largest domestic debut for a Bond movie (impressive given that there have been 23 of them). That topped previous franchise record holder Quantum of Solace's $67.5 million bow-in four years ago.

Add that to the on-fire sales Skyfall has been banking around the world and you get over $500 million in international sales. That puts the movie within less than $70 million of becoming the highest international grossing Bond movie of all time. In short, it's a good time to be Bond. Could it be Daniel Craig will replace Connery as the favored Bond in the hearts of a new generation of fans?

Lincoln enjoyed a highly successful small-release debut. Opening in just 11 venues it took in over $80,000 per theater for an almost $1 million start. While that's not enough to crack the top ten it's a good sign the movie will be a hit when it opens wide next week.

For the full weekend top ten, check out the chart below:

1. Skyfall * $87,800,000 Total: $90,000,000 LW: N     WR: 1     THTRS: 3,505

2. Wreck-It Ralph $33,056,000 Total: $93,690,000 LW: 1     WR: 2     THTRS: 3,752

3. Flight $15,100,000 Total: $47,770,000 LW: 2     WR: 2     THTRS: 2,047

4. Argo $6,745,000 Total: $85,711,000 LW: 3     WR: 5     THTRS: 2,763

5. Taken 2 $4,000,000 Total: $131,287,000 LW: 5     WR: 6     THTRS: 2,487

6. Here Comes the Boom $2,550,000 Total: $39,061,000 LW: 9     WR: 5     THTRS: 2,044

7. Cloud Atlas $2,525,000 Total: $22,712,000 LW: 6     WR: 3     THTRS: 2,023

8. Pitch Perfect $2,504,000 Total: $59,030,000 LW: 11     WR: 7     THTRS: 1,391

9. The Man with the Iron Fists $2,490,000 Total: $12,718,000 LW: 4     WR: 2     THTRS: 1,872

10. Hotel Transylvania $2,350,000 Total: $140,904,000 LW: 7     WR: 7     THTRS: 2,566