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Still, $70 million is only just shy of what most people projected for this weekend, and it's certainly not catastrophically shy of Skyfall's opening bow. I don't see Spectre coming anywhere close to Skyfall's $300 million domestic total, so I think that in the end, the full story here is going to be told by the international box office, which is currently tracking quite well. Spectre still stands a decent chance of being the second Bond film to reach the $1 billion mark worldwide.

What will really be interesting is that the distribution rights to the Bond films will soon be up for bid, and while Sony has promised to aggressively pursue them, they're going to face some stiff competition. In light of Spectre's slightly less favorable critical reception than Skyfall, and Daniel Craig's apparent mixed feelings on continuing with the role, it will be interesting to see how that fight pans out. And if James Bond lands himself a new home, how and whether the tone of the franchise might change as a result.

Felix Quinonez: I think this is a great opening weekend and when you look at its overseas performance, Spectre is in great shape. But at the same time I believe many people will give in to the kneejerk desire to call this a disappointment. It fell short of Skyfall's opening by $15 million but I don't believe that is a completely fair comparison.

Skyfall had some things going for it that Spectre didn't. The fact that Bond's previous outing coincided with the franchise's 50th anniversary shouldn't be underestimated. Also, there was a lot more excitement for Skyfall. Some of that can be attributed to the fact that this time around Bond didn't get nearly as much critical acclaim. But Skyfall had a really killer trailer, too. I still remember the part where he adjusts his suit while hopping on to the train that is falling apart. For me, and I guess other people, the trailer for Spectre didn't really pop in the same way. It felt like more of the same.

Also, there was a four-year gap between Quantum of Solace and Skyfall, so maybe that extra year helped raise the audience excitement. And I believe it is almost universally agreed that Quantum was crap, so Skyfall was a very welcome return to form for Bond. On the other hand, Spectre had a really tough act to follow, and it didn't seem to live up to it.

Michael Lynderey: It shows that Skyfall was the outlier, and the Bond series is basically back to where it was in 2008, or, you could say, in 2002. Die Another Day, an underrated film and Pierce Brosnan's last as Bond, grossed $160 million, while Casino Royale took in $167 million and Quantum of Solace one-upped it (literally) at $168 million. I suspect Spectre will end up perhaps literally in the same ballpark - $163 million? 165? I think it's clear there's a certain ceiling on how much support Bond can get, and it requires a kind of extreme momentum to lift the numbers up from this average (in Skyfall's case, way up, to over $300 million!). I know Spectre's Cinemascore is higher than Quantum of Solace, but I don't think its legs will be all that much better - it's up against Hunger Games in two weeks, while Skyfall only had to contend against Twilight 4, a franchise that was much more limited in its appeal. Still, as is, I think Spectre has an impressive number, but this is probably another one of those series that essentially does better overseas.

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