Bond Soars in Record $87.8M Debut

The sky's the limit for James Bond's Skyfall: The 23rd Bond film hauled in a franchise-record $87.8 million in its first weekend at US theaters. According to distributor Sony, adding $2.2 million from Thursday night previews at large-format theaters, Skyfall has taken in $90 million domestically. That lifts the worldwide total for Skyfall to around half a billion dollars once its weekend haul is counted overseas, where the film began rolling out in late October.

As of last Thursday, Skyfall had rung up nearly $350 million internationally. The third installment starring Daniel Craig as the British super-spy, Skyfall outdid the $67.5 million US debut of 2008's Quantum of Solace, the franchise's previous best opening. Skyfall more than doubled the $40.8 million debut of Craig's first Bond film, 2006's Casino Royale. (More James Bond stories.)