'Skyfall' posts best James Bond opening ever

Skyfall handily beat its franchise predecessors to post the highest opening for a James Bond film ever. Pent-up demand from the four-year wait, along with great reviews, brought the movie to an $87.8 million weekend. That's $20 million more than Quantum of Solace, which opened in 2008
to $67 million. The crowd skewed male and older, indicating that Bond's core fanbase turned out. IMAX screens did well, contributing 15% to the weekend total. With an "A" CinemaScore rating, Skyfall will do well in coming weeks, especially because the only competition this Friday could not be more different: the final Twilight, which will draw predominantly younger females.

Flight suffered in its second weekend, droping 39% to $15.1 million. The Denzel Washington drama competed with the older males that also wanted to see Skyfall. Argo also dropped more than usual, posting a 34% dip to $6.7 million.

Lincoln opened in eleven theatres and was rewarded with the second-highest per-screen average for an opening over ten screens. The $81,800 per screen was right below the opening of Precious and above Moonlight Kingdom.  It was also enough for the Steven Spielberg-directed picture to
earn nearly a million dollars even with such a small release. The audience skewed unusually old for Hollywood, with 67% over the age of 35. Next week, Lincoln expands and the biopic may be able to coast on the momentum of the recent presidential election. Gathering support from the general populace, however, will be an uphill battle.

Among specialty releases, the foreign costume drama A Royal Affair had a strong opening, averaging $5,700 per screen in five locations. Startlet, which stars literary spawn Dree Hemingway, also performed fairly well, averaging $2,600 per screen in six locations.

This Friday, Bella and her vampire husband continue their romance in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, the fourth and final film in the blockbuster series. Lincoln will expand into a small wide release. Awards hopefuls Anna Karenina and The Silver Linings Playbook will also make their debut in select theatres.