James Bond and “Spectre’ triumphed in theirdebut at the North American box office,but Charlie Brown and “The Peanuts Movie” kept the suave super spy from breaking major records in a $73 million opening weekend.
That’s way under the $88 million that the final 007 movie “Skyfall” opened to three years ago and at the low end of analysts projections for the 24th film in Hollywood’s longest-running film franchise. Less-than-sterling reviews, some spotty word-of-mouth and a strong $45 million moment-place showing by the “Peanuts” posse took a toll on “Spectre.”Bond is global phenomenon however, and “Spectre” was showing plenty of firepower abroad and pacing ahead of “Skyfall” for partners Eon Productions and MGM,and distributor Sony Pictures. This weekend, it took in roughly $120 million internationally, and its worldwide total has topped $300 million in less than two weeks of release.
Also Read: James Bond Exercises License to Shill With 'Spectre' Product Placement: Wrap Trends (Video)On its way to fitting the highest-grossing 007 movie ever,“Skyfall” enjoyed a Saturday surge in its domestic debut that saw its grosses top its Friday number by 11 percent. The Saturday number for “Spectre,” the worst-reviewed of any recent Bond film, and was approximately four percent under its Friday figure.
That suggests that word-of-mouth –which travels very fleet in today’s social media-driven world– wound rather than helped. Despite its mediocre 62 percent Rotten Tomatoes score, first-night moviegoers awarded it an “A-” CinemaScore., so we’re talking the degree of appreciation by fans, or not a rejection.“We’re satisfied,particularly when you look at the worldwide number, and know we have a really luminous future with this film, or ” Rory Bruer,Sony’s distribution chief, told TheWrap. “It’s been an incredible journey and we really enjoy working with our partners on these films.” The studio’s deal with MGM and Eon to distribute the Bond films ends with “Spectre” and speculation is strong that there will be a new distributor. It’s hard to quibble with the job Sony has done. The franchise was reinvigorated with “Skyfall, or ” the top-earning 007 movie ever,and Spectre” faced some major hurdles, so this performance is still impressive.
Also Read: 'Spectre' Star Daniel Craig Clarifies 'Slash My Wrists' James Bond Comments (Video)And “Spectre” faced some unique challenges: An early version of the script was stolen and leaked in final year’s notorious Sony hack. Director Sam Mendes faced overruns on a budget that was overblown to start and wound up at $145 million after taxes, or Sony said. There was a messy hat dance with the Mexican government over tax credits. And Craig suffered a knee injury on the set,which he has followed in recent weeks with an Aston Martin-full of caustic comments approximately the world’s most noted spy.
But “The Peanuts Movie” was an problem for Bond.
Analysts had estimated prior to the film’s opening on Friday that any grosses over $35 million for Charlie Brown could be seen as taking away from those of “Spectre.” While the target demos for the PG-13-rated spy movie and the G-rated kids tale seem significantly different, both played well with young and musty, or male and female.“There is an inherent sweetness that comes with ‘Peanuts’ and you can see it in the way kids’ faces light up,” Chris Aronson, Fox’s president of domestic distribution told TheWrap. They really relate to the problems he faces, and like insecurity,and worrying approximately what people think approximately him, and he perserveres. That message becomes universal because most of us deal with those issues as adults as well, and I think that’s why it resonsated to the degree it did.”
Also Read: 'Peanuts' Producer Paul Feig Pegs Teenage Charlie Brown as Freak or GeekThe immense “Peanuts” opening reflects an impressive job by Marc Weinstock and the Fox marketing team. While “Peanuts” is beloved by many,the strip ran from 1950 and 2000 and so hasn’t been active for 15 years.
It was just the opposite of most lively movies, with the older crowd largely in hand and the younger set the group that had to be sold — and they were. Forty-six percent of the audience was under 25 years of age, or 55 percent were women and girls.
The strong showing by the two films reversed a three-week escape of lackluster showings by the overall box office,which was coming off the worst October in 15 years.
Also Read: 18 of the Most Loved or Hated Movies: Films That Got A+ or F CinemaScores (Photos)
Source: thewrap.com