Daniel Craig’s farewell as James Bond, “No Time To Die,” made its domestic debut to the tune of $56,007,372. That is the fourth-largest opening in the James Bond franchise but only good enough to top “Casino Royale” in terms of the Craig-Bond films. “Skyfall” ($88 million), “Spectre” ($70 million), and “Quantum of Solace” ($67 million) all grossed more than “No Time to Die” in their opening weekends. However, “No Time To Die” also has the longest runtime of two hours and forty-three minutes. The opening was good enough to beat out “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” which dropped 64.5% and made $32 million in its second week open, and it is also important to note that “No Time To Die” already opened in many other markets, grossing $256,260,000 internationally, good enough for a whopping 82% of its $313,276,372 worldwide total. Even if its legs aren’t as long as previous Craig-Bond movies, “No Time To Die” shouldn’t have much of an issue rising the all-time domestic charts for the James Bond franchise. “No Time To Die’s” domestic opening was good enough to put it 12th all-time, placing it in the upper half of the franchise in just one weekend.
“Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings” has been quiet since “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” dethroned it, but it has now cleared the $400 million mark worldwide and is closing in the Chinese war film, “The Battle at Lake Changjin” ($405 million) for the fifth highest-grossing film of the year.
A24’s Icelandic thriller, “Lamb,” opened in just 583 theatres this week but made $1,000,079 at the box office. That was good enough for seventh place this weekend. Bleecker Street Media will also be happy with the new drama “Mass,” as it made $14,457 in just four theatres including the AMC in Lincoln Square. That is an average of $3,614 per theatre, and the rollout plan will likely expand if that type of interest is seen. Seeing smaller films succeed is great when you consider that most of the top ten are sequels, prequels, or setting up a franchise.
The next few weeks are stacked: Michael Myers looks to be coming to hunt down James Bond as “Halloween Kills” opens next week, and Ridley Scott’s medieval epic, “The Last Duel,” starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Adam Driver, and Jamie Comer is getting a wide release as well. IFC Films is also releasing “Bergman Island,” which played at the New York Film Festival. As it is one of the best films of the year, I cannot recommend enough that people go and check it out if it is available in your area. It likely won’t be playing outside of major cities, but it is a unique film and a necessary watch for anyone who writes.
