Monday Morning Quarterback Part I
By BOP Staff
November 13, 2012
BoxOfficeProphets.com

NASCAR beatdown!

Bond brings it

Kim Hollis: Skyfall opened to a blistering $88.4 million over the weekend, besting the previous franchise opening weekend record by a full $20 million. What are your thoughts on this performance?

Matthew Huntley: A few reasons why this happened, most of them obvious (and therefore why I'm not too surprised by this still-sensational figure): 1) It's been four years since the last Bond picture and audiences were clearly in the mood to release their pent up anticipation; 2) For the most part, the last film in the franchise - Quantum of Solace - disappointed, and fans wanted to make sure Skyfall redeemed it somehow; and given the reviews and exit polls, it did just that; 3) the marketing/advertising for this film was EVERYWHERE; in fact, this may have been the most prolific movie campaign in recent memory. Bond invaded pre-movie commercials, watch ads, beer ads, car ads, etc. Seems like you couldn't go anywhere without seeing a reference to the character. So while $88 million is amazing, it's not exactly dumbfounding.

Jason Barney: This is an outstanding opening here in the states considering the film has already matched its budget based on the results from overseas. The $150- 200 million budget was surpassed a while ago in foreign markets, so anything done here in the U.S. is gravy. This is another example of how some films have a better appeal to a broader audience, more than just Americans. It certainly matters how well a movie does in the U.S, but studios are really starting to understand the value of their product outside U.S. borders. $88 million here is a great opening, considering it is the best for the Bond franchise, but the real success is the take from foreigners. It has ALREADY taken in over $420 million from outside the United States. The 93% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes is going to help. At this point it doesn't matter what is opening next weekend, as Bond has made a mountain of money and the holiday season numbers are looking very strong. This is going to be a huge success.

Edwin Davies: This is pretty spectacular any way you cut it. In terms of the general box office, it's the biggest opening weekend we've seen since The Dark Knight Rises back in July - though it will no doubt be surpassed by Breaking Dawn: Part Deux next week - and in terms of the Bond series it's a big step up from Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale. It's also indicative of what a unique franchise Bond is, since it's managed to not only survive a very dodgy entry in the form of Quantum, but far surpassed it. Conventional wisdom would have us think that the follow-up to a generally disliked previous film would see a decline, even if the reviews were good. There are other factors at play, such as the strong international response, which probably helped build anticipation, not to mention the all-consuming advertising campaign, but I think this result demonstrates the resilience and iconic nature of the character that the series has come back so strongly.

Going forward, I think Skyfall will easily overtake Quantum of Solace to be the biggest film of the series, even if it doesn't have particularly strong legs. If it holds well, then it could make upwards of $250 million, which would be simply astonishing.

Bruce Hall: Outstanding word-of-mouth has helped Skyfall appeal to an even wider audience than Bond is used to reaching - first abroad, and then of course this week in the US. I think that it was easy for Americans to hear the breathless media analysis of the film's astonishing overseas run and not want to be left out of the excitement. In other words, come Monday morning nobody wants to be the only person in the office who didn't see the biggest movie on the planet.

Also, Quantum of Solace was not awful so much as it was perplexing, meaning there remains tremendous goodwill toward Daniel Craig as Bond and by extension, Judi Dench as M. The relationship between those two characters has been the most interesting thing about the Bond series dating back to the Brosnan days, and it was a tremendous decision to revolve Skyfall around it. And let's not forget the most important thing - while I hesitate to say it's the "best Bond ever", Skyfall is also a genuinely good film that truly deserves most of the praise it's getting.

Although if I hear one more person try to compare Adele to Shirley Bassey, I think my head might explode...

Shalimar Sahota: Stellar. Based on this opening I'm sure that come next week, worldwide grosses will place Skyfall as the highest grossing film in the Bond franchise. In the long term I think a total worldwide gross of close to $1 billion could be a possibility here. As Matthew highlighted, it has everything working for it, what with it being the 50th anniversary, the adverts, the product placement tie-ins, the video game, the Adele theme song... no matter where you look, you can't escape Skyfall. It also helps that it's just a great film, as highlighted by the reviews and also with the level of Oscar winning talent involved. Plus, just the Bond franchise itself. While there have been a few missteps, it appeals to all. There are those that have grown up with Bond since the days of Sean Connery, and it has picked up more fans when Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig took over.

Reagen Sulewski: The Broccoli family has shown a tremendous willingness to work with the times as far as producing the James Bond film that fits with the generation they're working with. It's amazing just to think that we're actually still seeing James Bond films, and that they're arguably more popular than ever - it's as if someone were still making Charlie Chan films in the 1970s.

Which isn't to say they haven't had to learn some lessons the hard way - maybe handing over the reins to someone who has said they hate James Bond films wasn't such a great idea - but in terms of managing the direction of a multi-billion dollar franchise that in no way was still guaranteed to be one, it's a rare level of self-awareness.

Kim Hollis: I think this is a fantastic number, particularly considering the negative taste left behind by Quantum of Solace. I actually disagree with Bruce about that film not being awful. I kind of think it was, with its biggest crime being that it was boring. That's a pretty negative stigma to overcome, and we've definitely seen lesser quality films in a franchise impact the ones that follow. And while I won't compare Adele to Shirley Bassey, I will say that "Skyfall" is the James Bondiest James Bond theme I've heard in a long time (and I cannot get it out of my head).

David Mumpower: The primary aspect that has yet to be discussed is the impact of the Olympics. The highlight of the Opening Ceremonies was Daniel Craig portraying his character, James Bond, with the very real Queen of England. If that sketch had been performed with Helen Mirren, it would have been phenomenal. With Her Majesty dutifully agreeing, the skit became a global phenomenon. In the United States alone, 40.7 million viewers watched free advertising for Skyfall. There is no way to replicate that sort of marketing nor is there any way to quantify its impact. My hypothesis is that Skyfall's appeal was vastly elevated by those few minutes of espionage fiction colliding with royal reality.