New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

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.

Continued:       1       2