Weekend Box Office: Spectre And The Peanuts Movie Get November Off To A Strong Start

November came crashing into theaters this weekend, finally pushing the lingering successes of a weak October out of the way and setting up what is likely to be one of the stronger holiday seasons at the box office.

James Bond made a strong return for the fourth installation with Daniel Craig in the role of 007. Spectre opened at number one with $73 million, a solid start despite being down from the $88 million opening for Skyfall. Craig and director Sam Mendes, neither of whom has had another movie release since Skyfall in 2012, now have two Bond debuts open above $70 million, helping to see the franchise grow financially, well outpacing ticket price inflation.

The Peanuts Movie, expected to be more of a third tier animated feature with an opening in the $20-$25 million range, made a much bigger splash. It landed in second place with $45 million, putting it closer to The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and Hotel Transylvania 2 which bowed in with $55 million and $48 million respectively.

In small release, writer/director Tom McCarthy's latest offering, Spotlight, which boasts an amazing cast list that includes Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber, Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo, had a great opening weekend. With just 5 screens it pulled a more than $60,000 per venue average for a hot $300,000 start.

Small release openings don't commonly make more than $50,000 per venue (less than ten or so a year usually manage that feat), but the last few weeks have seen more than their fair share. Sicario opened in mid September in 6 theaters with a $66,000 average, and Steve Jobs started in mid October at just 4 locations with a rare $130,000 per theater average.

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