James Bond adventure Spectre shot down its rivals at the US box office to debut in first place with $73m at the weekend. But the 24th official 007 movie found itself dipping short of the all-time Bond record, Skyfall’s gargantuan $88.3m haul from 2012.
Daniel Craig’s fourth turn as the suave spy received weaker reviews in the US than in the UK, where the film has smashed box office records since opening on 26 October. However, Bond also faced tough competition in the US from The Peanuts Movie, which opened strongly with $45m in second place.
Variety also suggests Spectre remains on track to match Skyfall’s worldwide $1.1bn haul after doing better outside the US. A strong turn in China, where the film has yet to debut, could also help Sam Mendes’ movie match its predecessor. So far, Spectre has made $296.1m globally.
The Peanuts Movie centres on animated pals Snoopy and Charlie Brown, made famous by illustrator Charles M Schulz in his comic strip of the same name. It sees Charlie Brown attempting to encourage the affections of the Little Red-Haired Girl, who has moved in across the street, with a variety of endeavours, and has picked up excellent reviews.
“The Peanuts Movie plays as something like a ‘greatest hits’ of the franchise in all its incarnations, from the beloved holiday television specials to those cute-but-not-hilarious greeting cards that seem to arrive with regularity from an infantilising family member,” wrote The Guardian’s Jordan Hoffman. “All the classic moments are there, crammed in as if we might not get another shot at this. It’s all very sweet and charming, and we should be thankful this isn’t a childhood-ruining disaster. But it’s still a 93-minute movie that somehow feels a half-hour too long.”
Last week’s No 1, the enduring Ridley Scott space drama The Martian, slipped off the top spot for the second time – it was also briefly pushed into second place by spooky kids’ movie Goosebumps three weeks ago, but has otherwise remained top since debuting on 2 October – to come in third with another $9.3m in its sixth week of release. The film will most likely pass the $200m mark in North America next weekend and could yet hit $500m after racking up $458m worldwide.
The top five was rounded out by Goosebumps, with $6.95m in its fourth week, and Steven Spielberg espionage drama Bridge of Spies, with $6.08m – also in its fourth week.
There were no other new films in this week’s top 10, but the Tom McCarthy drama Spotlight, about the Massachusetts Catholic sex abuse scandal, scored well on limited release with $302,276 from five cinemas for a decent average of $60,455 per screen.
North American box office 5-7 November
1. Spectre: $73m – NEW
2. The Peanuts Movie: $45m - NEW
3. The Martian: $9.3m. Total: $197m
4. Goosebumps: $6.9m. Total: $66.4m
5. Bridge of Spies: $6.08m. Total: $54.9m
6. Hotel Transylvania 2: $3.5m. Total: $161.2m
7. Burnt: $3m. Total: $10.2m
8. The Last Witch Hunter: $2.65m. Total: $23.5m
9. The Intern: $1.8m. Total: $71.4m
10. Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension: $1.6m. Total: $16.2m
