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Global Showbiz Briefs: Warp Films; Paris’ Summer Drive-In; 007 Book; M6 & 20th TV

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Monday April 15, 2013 @ 9:00pm PDTTags: Global Showbiz Briefs, James Bond

Warp Films Ramps Up TV Fare In Deal With ITVSGE
UK indie production company Warp Films is looking to increase its TV output and has signed a first-look development deal with ITV Studios Global Entertainment. The BAFTA-winning Warp previously produced This Is England ’86 and the This Is England ’88. It’s currently producing drama serial Southcliffe for Channel 4. Warp will ramp up its TV development activity with ITVSGE in the coming weeks and the latter will handle the slate internationally. On the feature side, Warp recently produced Richard Ayoade’s Submarine and has the upcoming The Stone Roses: Made Of Stone and Yann Demange thriller 71 on its slate.

Paris Gets A Summer Drive-In
You have to hand it to the French for their summertime moviegoing initiatives. There’s the open-air cinema at the Parc de la Villette and the Fête du Cinéma in June during which ticket prices are slashed across the country. Exhibitor MK2 is adding a new layer this summer by morphing Paris’ Grand Palais museum into a drive-in movie theater from June 10-21. The historic monument that’s just off the Champs-Elysées will welcome up to 1,000 moviegoers per showing in a 1,300 square foot space filled with old and new model Fiats and surrounded by a diner, a gaming arcade and a roller rink that becomes a dance floor at night. Among the movies screening over the 11 day event that’s dubbed Cinema Paradiso are Pulp Fiction, Grease, The Big Lebowski, Taxi Driver, Psycho and Annie Hall. Tickets go on sale April 26. READ MORE »

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Sam Mendes Won’t Direct Bond 24: Report

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Wednesday March 6, 2013 @ 5:24am PSTTags: James Bond, Sam Mendes, Skyfall

He directed the highest-grossing James Bond movie of all time, but with a full dance card, Skyfall helmer Sam Mendes has told Empire Magazine that he will not return to the 007 franchise for the … Read More »

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OSCARS: ‘Les Mis’ Cast, Jennifer Hudson, Catherine Zeta-Jones To Sing Live In Musicals Tribute; Show Producers Reveal More Behind-The-Scenes Details

By PETE HAMMOND | Wednesday February 20, 2013 @ 4:32am PSTTags: Barbra Streisand, Craig Zadan, James Bond, Les Miserables, Neil Meron, Oscars
Pete Hammond

EXCLUSIVE: Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls and Catherine Zeta-Jones for Chicago will be performing their Oscar-winning roles on Sunday’s Academy Awards as part of a celebration honoring the resurgence of movie musicals of the last decade. In the same segment revisiting their roles from this year’s Best Picture contender Les Miserables will be several of the film’s key cast members including Oscar nominees (and former Oscar hosts) Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway along with Russell Crowe, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tevit, Samantha Barks, and Helena Bonham Carter.

This year’s Oscar show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who last month announced the musical tribute would be part of their show, have kept the participants who will be singing a secret until finally first breaking the news to Deadline this morning.

They have produced musicals for film like Chicago and Hairspray, for television films like Cinderella and The Music Man, on Broadway with How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and Promises Promises, and on series TV with their current NBC drama Smash. Music is obviously in Zadan and Meron’s DNA and, as evidenced by the musical talent they are luring to the telecast, that is clearly what their Oscar show is going to be all about. Host Seth MacFarlane will be merging music with his comedy bits right from the opening as well. Read More »

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OSCARS: Shirley Bassey To Make First-Ever Appearance On Telecast

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday February 8, 2013 @ 8:01am PSTTags: James Bond, Oscars, Shirley Bassey

Would a tribute to the James Bond franchise’s 50th anniversary be complete without the woman who sang the theme song to Goldfinger? Shirley Bassey will make her first-ever appearance on the Oscars on February 24, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. They also said that composer-arranger William Ross will conduct the orchestra, marking the third time he has done so for the Academy Awards. Here’s the release on Bassey:

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Dame Shirley Bassey will make a special appearance on the Oscars®, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today.

“We are thrilled to welcome the legendary Dame Shirley Bassey to our Oscar show,” said Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. “Her association with film music is world renowned and we are proud that she will be making her first Oscar appearance on our telecast.

Bassey is this year celebrating her very own “Diamond Jubilee” with a career spanning over six decades. She has recorded over 44 albums, sold over 135 million records and has sold out concert halls across the world. In June 2012, she was one of a number of esteemed artists, including Elton John, Paul McCartney and Annie Lennox, who performed at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert. In the United States, Bassey is best known for recording the theme songs for the James Bond films “Goldfinger,” “Diamonds Are Forever” and “Moonraker.”

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OSCARS: New James Bond Promo Ad

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday February 1, 2013 @ 10:43am PSTTags: James Bond, Oscars, Seth MacFarlane

Seth MacFarlane has been riffing promo ads for his Oscar-hosting gig since nominations were announced. Here’s the latest one to tout the ceremony’s planned James Bond tribute.

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Sky/BBC America Biopic ‘Fleming’ Adds Cast

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Friday January 25, 2013 @ 6:17am PSTTags: BBC America, Fleming, James Bond, Sky Atlantic

A group of actors including Da Vinci’s Demons’ Lara Pulver is joining the cast of Sky Atlantic/BBC America‘s biopic Fleming. The upcoming four-part drama stars Dominic Cooper as James Bond creator-author Ian Fleming and, as I reported last week, also has Annabelle Wallis lined up as Muriel Wright, the original inspiration for the Bond Girl. Sky confirms today that Pulver will play Ann O’Neill, with whom Fleming had a longterm on-off relationship before she became his wife in 1952. She is said to have heavily influenced the writer: a year after they wed, the first 007 book, Casino Royale, was published. Mr Selfridge‘s Samuel West is also aboard as Admiral John Godfrey, with whom Fleming worked during WWII and who put him in charge of Operation Golden Eye. Godfrey is generally accepted to have been the inspiration for the M character in the Bond books. British actress Lesley Manville will play Fleming’s mother Eve and British actor Rupert Evans will play his brother Peter. The Hour‘s Anna Chancellor is taking on the part of Lieutenant Monday, an inspiration for Miss Moneypenny. Read More »

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OSCARS: Academy President Defends Controversial Online Voting, Says More Members Voted Than Ever Before

By PETE HAMMOND | Thursday January 10, 2013 @ 1:51pm PSTTags: Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Craig Zadan, Emma Stone, Hawk Koch, James Bond, Neil Meron, Online Voting, Seth MacFarlane
Pete Hammond

Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences President Hawk Koch vigorously defended the Academy’s controversial new system of online voting when we spoke right after the nominations announcement this morning. He said despite the kinks and some complaints from members about difficulty in voting electronically that it actually brought out the biggest voter participation the organization has had. “It’s the first time, yes. But the first time you do anything of course there’s problems. Remember the first time you walked?  Of course there’s problems.  But the truth is we’ve had more people voting for nominations than we’ve ever had. And we had more people in each branch, every single branch had more people voting. So that portends two things. One, the online voting worked and two, everyone was excited about the films this year. They wanted to make sure and vote. And three, the questions about ’oh has everybody had a chance to see all the films?’ Our members saw all the films,” he said breaking with the long held tradition of keeping Academy voter turnout totals secret and not commenting at all on the subject. There had been speculation the Academy’s sometimes-rocky transition into online voting might actually depress voter participation but Koch said that definitely turned out not to be the case according to their internal figures.

Of course the Academy has been under strong scrutiny for the way it has conducted its first foray into the perilous waters of online voting, something every guild and most voting organizations have been doing for the past few years. Because the Academy (which could be a prized target for hackers) has to be overly concerned about security and the threat of having their system infiltrated they devised a “foolproof” system involving the use of codes and passwords and special phone numbers for member verification which confused some members and angered others. Others I spoke with over the course of voting seemed fine with it, so it was a mixed bag. The Academy tried to accommodate everyone and extended the registration period by two weeks after the first Deadline article appeared on November 28, and later changed its rules to automatically send a paper ballot for those who didn’t register online. As more members expressed frustration about being “locked out” of the system the Academy took another unprecedented step and even extended voting by one day to January 4th instead of the original announced date of January 3rd. Read More »

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Perennially Ignored By Academy Voters, James Bond Gets Oscarcast Tribute

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Friday January 4, 2013 @ 6:26am PSTTags: James Bond, Javier Bardem, Oscars, Skyfall
Mike Fleming

James Bond Oscar Tribute SkyfallBREAKING: It has only taken 007 half a century to get his due from the Academy. Oscars exec producers will include a tribute to the James Bond franchise, it was announced this morning. It’s a good idea from the standpoint of getting the masses interested in avoiding a snore-fest like last year, but the timing is also fortuitous for honoring moviedom’s most enduring feature franchise.

The most recent installment, the Sam Mendes-directed Skyfall, recently became the first 007 film to crack the $1 billion worldwide gross mark; also, Bond celebrated its 50-year anniversary with the Skyfall release.

Related: Academy Celebrates 50 Years Of James Bond Music From ‘Goldfinger’ To ‘Skyfall’

It is a remarkable exception to how the Academy has historically dismissed the James Bond films as award-worthy. Only 1964′s Goldfinger and 1965′s Thunderball won awards, and they were for Best Effects. The 2006 film Casino Royale, which introduced Daniel Craig as 007 and is on my Top 10 favorite films, didn’t get a single Oscar nomination. Perhaps this year will be different — Javier Bardem’s villain character in Skyfall has so far been nominated for SAG and PGA Awards. I’m not sure about a Best Picture nomination, because there are so many worthy films up against Skyfall. At least the series will get a little bit of love from Oscar. Has 007 been done an injustice all these years by Oscar?

Here’s the official announcement: Read More »

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‘Skyfall’ Becomes UK’s Highest-Grossing Film Of All Time

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Wednesday December 5, 2012 @ 2:44am PSTTags: Box Office, James Bond, Skyfall

It was already the biggest film of the year and the best 007 movie ever in the UK. Now, Skyfall has achieved yet another milestone to become the highest-grossing film ever in the territory. In 40 … Read More »

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‘Skyfall’ Expected To Exceed $800M In Worldwide Box Office Sales

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday November 15, 2012 @ 2:58pm PSTTags: James Bond, MGM, Skyfall

MGM chief Gary Barber presented the forecast to his company’s investors today, saying that the film will become “the highest-grossing Bond film of all time.” He adds that Skyfall is performing “substantially above our expectations.” Barber also … Read More »

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‘Skyfall’ Becomes No. 2 Movie Of All Time In The UK And Top 2D Film Ever

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Wednesday November 14, 2012 @ 9:09am PSTTags: Box Office, James Bond, Skyfall, Sony Pictures

Skyfall is climbing higher and higher in the UK record books. The 23rd James Bond entry last week became the biggest film of the year in the territory and the top 007 film ever. Now, after … Read More »

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‘Skyfall’ Explodes With $515M Worldwide As Biggest Bond With $90M Domestic Opening; Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’ Huge $900K In 11 Runs

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Sunday November 11, 2012 @ 9:06am PSTTags: Box Office, James Bond, Lincoln, Skyfall

James Bond Box Office U.S. Lincoln Box Office Release
SUNDAY 9AM, 8TH UPDATE: Sony Pictures, MGM, and Eon Productions just announced that Skyfall, the 23rd and biggest grossing in the James Bond film series, earned another $89.0M million this weekend overseas bringing the international total to $428.6 million. With this weekend’s $90M opening in the U.S. and Canada, the Sam Mendes-directed, John Logan-scripted, Daniel Craig-starring actioner now has an estimated $518.6M worldwide. Yowza!

Both Skyfall and DreamWorks Studios/Fox/Disney’s Lincoln received great reviews going into Friday and so their opening domestic box office sparked intense industry interest. Total moviegoing this weekend through Sunday was $160M, more than half of it from 007, so that’s a very nice +20% more than last year. “Skyfall blew past all expectations for the film,” gushed a Sony exec today, calling it “the biggest juggernaut in the history of the James Bond franchise”. Despite a four year hiatus during which some cynics thought 007 had jumped the shark, Skyfall opened in North America much larger than anyone thought. Rival studios thought Sony was low-balling with its $75M pre-release estimate. And on Saturday morning, the studio begged me to lower my sources’ $88M weekend estimate. But the actual number is $87.8M ($31.7M Friday, $33.9M Saturday, and an estimated $22.2M Sunday). Add in Thursday’s select 463 IMAX preview screenings and Skyfall‘s cume is now $90M. This is absolutely the biggest-grossing 007 movie ever in the string of films since 1962 – not adjusted for inflation or higher ticket prices or IMAX premiums. It blows away Quantum Of Solace‘s $67.5M opening weekend in November 2008. After Skyfall received a coveted ‘A’ CinemaScore from audiences, word of mouth bumped grosses +7% from Friday to Saturday - even though Friday’s gross included $2.4M from Friday midnights. Skyfall‘s 3,505-run wide release in U.S. and Canada also set a new theater count record for the franchise and its #1 opening is the ninth to be released by Sony Pictures in 2012. IMAX took in $13.1M at their theaters as part of Skyfall‘s weekend box office. Exit polls showed 60% of the opening weekend audience was male and 40% was female with 25% under 25 years old. Sony also says the exits showed “extraordinary recommend numbers” so expect a great holiday run.

Internationally, Skyfall opened overseas October 26th, and going into this Friday the actioner had taken in $346.8M internationally. But Hollywood was betting that the worldwide total would be a gargantuan $500+M through Sunday - and it was. Sony’s markets earned $79.6M to bring the cume to $367.4M. MGM’s
distribution partners grossed $9.4M to bring their cume to $61.2M. James Bond #23 has now passed the $407.7M lifetime of Quantum Of Solace and on Monday will pass Casino Royale‘s $432.2M. As for top markets, the UK fell off just 30% in its 3rd weekend, grossing a huge $18.2M to bring the cume to $117.5M. It’s now the 4th biggest film of all time in the UK with £72.9M (and the biggest non-3D film) on its way to becoming #2 of all time on Monday. Germany was off just 30% from its opening frame, adding $15.1M for $44.0M. Others include France now $42.5M, Holland $9.4M, Switzerland $10.9M, Italy $12.1M, Russia $22.0M, Spain $9.9M, Sweden $11.3M, India $8.5M, Mexico $5.8M, Brazil $10.6M, Denmark $9.9M, Norway $9.1M, Korea $14.1M, and Austria $5.4M.

DreamWorks Studios/Fox/Disney’s PG-13 Lincoln platformed in just 11 theatres and overperformed. This massive opening will build even more Oscar buzz for Steven Spielberg, Daniel Day-Lewis, Tony Kushner, and the rest. Despite a running time of 2-hours/30-minutes, Lincoln surpassed insiders’ hopes that the biopic could debut with an impressive $40K-$50K per screen average through Sunday. Now the real number is $81,800 per screen average and $900K cume this weekend ($268K Friday, $347K Saturday, and an estimated $285K Sunday). ”Off to an incredible start with sold out shows in a number of theatres across the country,” a studio insider tells me, with venues scrambling to add extra screenings. This all bodes well for Lincoln’s continued holiday play when Disney expands theater counts domestically. Twentieth Century Fox has overseas where surprisingly its other Honest Abe movie, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, did 66.6% of its business. So expect Spielberg’s pic to have heat abroad, too.

As for holdovers, last weekend’s #1 Wreck-It Ralph from Walt Disney Animation hung on for a strong -32% through Sunday, while #2 Paramount’s Flight posted a very good -39%. Full analysis later.

Here’s the Top Ten based on weekend estimates (may be refined):

1. Skyfall (Eon/MGM/Sony) NEW [Runs 3,505] PG13
Friday $31.7M, Saturday $33.9M, Weekend $87.0M

2. Wreck-It Ralph (Disney) Week 2 [Runs 3,752] PG
Friday $7.8M, Saturday $14.7M, Weekend $33.0M (-32%), Cume $93.6M

3. Flight (Paramount) Week 2 [Runs 2,047] R
Friday $4.2M, Saturday $6.5M, Weekend $15.1M (-39%), Cume $47.7M

4. Argo (Warner Bros) Week 5 [Runs 2,763] R
Friday $1.8M, Saturday $3.0M, Weekend $6.7M, Cume $85.7M

5. Taken 2 (Fox) Week 6 [Runs 2,487] PG13
Friday $1.1M, Saturday $1.8M, Weekend $4.0M, Cume $131.2M

6. Here Comes The Boom (Sony) Week 5 [Runs 2,044] PG
Friday $700K, Saturday $1.1M, Friday $2.5M, Cume $39.0M

7. Cloud Atlas (Warner Bros) Week 3 [Runs 2,023] R
Friday $710K, Saturday $1.1M, Weekend $2.5M, Cume $22.7M

8. Pitch Perfect (Universal) Week 7 [Runs 1,391] PG13
Friday $786K, Saturday $1.1M, Weekend $2.5M, Cume $59.0M

9. The Man With The Iron Fist (Universal) Week 2 [Runs 1,872] R
Friday $739K, Saturday $1.0M, Weekend $2.4M (-69%), Cume $12.7

10. Hotel Transylvania (Sony Animation) Week 7 [Runs 2,566] PG
Friday $505K, Saturday $1.1M, Weekend $2.3M, Cume $140.9M

Back to 007. “We are off to an amazing start,” Sony told me Friday morning as Skyfall began its roll out in North America. It did $2.2M in Thursday previews that were exclusive to 463 IMAX screens and Premium Large Format theaters. And beginning with Friday midnight shows, it did $2.4M for a combined total of $4.6M. “The matinee numbers are huge,” one rival studio exec told me by midday. “Right now the hourlys are very, very strong!” By early evening it was clear that matinees were “through the roof”, including exceptional performance from IMAX theaters now running with their regular schedule. After a 4-year-delay, James Bond #23 is a 3-way co-production among Eon Productions, MGM Studios, and Sony Pictures who all had to wait for MGM’s bankruptcy to get Skyfall‘s sorry financial and ownership state sorted out.  Read More »

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‘Skyfall’ Is Now UK’s Biggest Film Of 2012; All-Time Top James Bond Movie

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Thursday November 8, 2012 @ 8:48am PSTTags: Box Office, James Bond, Skyfall

On the cusp of its U.S. opening, Skyfall just keeps blasting ahead at the box office. The 23rd James Bond film today passed The Dark Knight Rises to become the UK’s highest-grossing film of the year. With a … Read More »

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OSCARS: Bond Songs Don’t Get Academy Attention

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday November 4, 2012 @ 2:49pm PSTTags: Awardsline, James Bond, Skyfall

Craig Modderno is an AwardsLine contributor

After 50 years on screen, British agent James Bond is once again trying to use a woman to get what he wants from a stranger: Grammy Award-winning Adele sings and cowrote the title song for the latest big-screen Bond adventure, Skyfall. And judging from the international response to the track, this time around Bond might stand a chance in getting some long-deserved Oscar attention for the tune.

But Bond songs—let alone the franchise itself—don’t often earn Academy Award nominations. At an October Academy event, The Music of Bond: The First 50 Years, author and event host Jon Burlingame explained why Bond theme songs have earned only three Oscar nominations over a half-century.

Related: ‘Skyfall’ International Total Now $287 Million

“The problem in composing a song for a Bond film is often the producers require the title of the song to be the title of the film,” Burlingame explains. “But how do you come up with a song entitled ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’?” Read More »

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‘Skyfall’ Passes Last ‘Potter’ To Break 7-Day UK Record; Now Year’s 3rd-Highest Grosser

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Friday November 2, 2012 @ 5:59am PDTTags: Box Office, James Bond, Skyfall

Skyfall Box Office UKAfter being primed to hit $100M globally on Thursday, Skyfall has secured the biggest seven-day gross of all time in the UK. With £37.2M ($59.86M), the film overtook Harry Potter And The Deathly … Read More »

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James Bond ‘Skyfall’ To Hit $100M By Today

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday November 1, 2012 @ 7:00am PDTTags: Box Office, James Bond, Skyfall

Skyfall Box OfficeBREAKING… Skyfall shows no weakness following its $83 million overseas debut in 25 markets over the weekend. Strong film reviews and advance buzz are propelling the 23rd James Bond high-octane actioner to fast-moving overseas grosses midweek. Now the … Read More »

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‘Skyfall’ Opens #1 In 25 Overseas Markets; Grosses $77.7M And Smashes UK Records

By NIKKI FINKE AND NANCY TARTAGLIONE | Sunday October 28, 2012 @ 10:28am PDTTags: Box Office, James Bond, MGM, Skyfall, Sony Pictures

SUNDAY AM UPDATE: Sony Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s Skyfall, the 23rd film in the James Bond series, opened overseas in 25 markets and grossed a staggering $77.7 million, #1 everywhere. Setting the pace was of course the UK, which opened to an enormous estimated $32.4 million (£20.1M). Smashing the all-time Saturday attendance record, this is the biggest opening of 2012 and the biggest 2D Friday-to-Sunday opening weekend in history there, and the 2nd biggest all-time Friday-to-Sunday opening weekend, behind just the 3D Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2. This launch was 76% bigger than Daniel Craig’s first turn as 007, Casino Royale, and 30% bigger than Quantum Of Solace. Of the $77.7M on Skyfall, IMAX is estimating a weekend gross of $3.5M in 79 locations in 15 territories which include the UK, France, Russia, Korea, Bulgaria, Middle East, Kazakhstan and Brazil.

– France bowed with $9.1M, or 39% more than Casino Royale’s opening Friday to Sunday (beating the entire 5-day opening as well) and just 15% less than Quantum Of Solace (which  opened during a holiday period.)

– Russia opened to $8.6M, way more than the previous movies especially with that territory’s massive theatre-building push.

– Korea took in 49% of the market, grossing $6.1M, which was more than triple Casino Royale’s opening and 58% more than Quantum Of Solace’s opening Friday-to-Sunday (22% more than Quantum’s  entire 4-day opening).

– Brazil launched with a huge $6.5M, the biggest Bond bow ever there, beating Casino Royale’s opening by 130% and Quantum Of Solace’s by 37%.

– Belgium earned $1.4M, up 40% on Casino Royale’s first Friday to Sunday and 17% on Quantum Of Solace’s.

– Norway opened to $2.7M, capturing well over 65% of the entire market and besting the opening of Casino Royale by 52% and Quantum Of Solace by 15%.

– Sweden launched with a huge $2.6, the biggest opening of 2012, 27% bigger than the opening of Casino Royale, and just 4% less than Quantum Of Solace, which opened during a national holiday.

– Denmark also opened to $2.6, the biggest non-3D opening ever there, beating Casino Royale by 23% and Quantum Of Solace by 30%.

– Finland earned a huge $1.5M, the biggest opening in history there excluding previews, beating Casino Royale’s bow by 82% and Quantum Of Solace’s by 23%.

Other openings included Other openings included Poland $2.5M, the Czech Republic $835k, Hungary $425K, Romania $325K, Slovakia (310K, Bulgaria $175K, Iceland $155K, Israel $825K, Portugal $630K.

Related: Weak Pre-Uberstorm Box Office: ‘Argo’ #1, ‘Cloud Atlas’ Low Grossing #2

EXCLUSIVE… SATURDAY: There’s no doubt that strong film reviews and advance buzz are giving the 23rd James Bond movie a big thumbs-up. But this weekend is the first indication of how well the Sam Mendes-directed pic will do at the box office with the Eon Production Skyfall opening in the UK, France and other Euro territories for Sony Pictures and MGM. Sony won’t divulge official international grosses until Sunday morning. But sources tell Deadline now that Skyfall opened as Britain’s 2D all-time biggest Friday opening and 2D biggest opening weekend. It smashed previous records set by the two other Daniel Craig as 007 movies.

Skyfall‘s UK total is expected to be £20M weekend ($32.2M) compared with the first installment Casino Royale‘s opening weekend of £13.37m ($21.53M) and Quantum Of Solace‘s £15.38m ($24.77M) which broke UK box office records for the biggest opening weekend when it was released in 2008. Skyfall‘s Friday opening day of £6.2M ($9.99M) also shattered Quantum Of Solace‘s previous recordholder of £4.9M. Saturday was expected to be higher and Sunday’s about the same. (Numbers may be refined on Sunday…) Helping total grosses, Skyfall was expected to be shown almost 75 to 100 times in round-the-clock screenings over its opening weekend at some UK cinemas in London, Manchester, Liverpool, and Southhampton. Skyfall doesn’t open in the U.S. and Canada until November 9th (a day earlier, November 8th, on IMAX screens). But Hollywood expects it to top both Quantum Of Solace which went on to gross $586M (£367.4M) worldwide and 2006′s Casino Royale which grossed $594.2M (£372.5M) making it the highest grossing film in the Bond franchise (not adjusted for inflation or higher ticket prices).

Related: IMAX Boasts 26% More James Bond ‘Skyfall’

That includes the United States where all-in guesstimates top $215M – much better than

Read More »

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‘Gladiator’ Scribe John Logan To Write Next Two James Bond Films

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Friday October 26, 2012 @ 11:33am PDTTags: James Bond, John Logan, Skyfall
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: As buzz builds for the 23rd James Bond film Skyfall, the franchise’s producers have quietly made a deal with John Logan to write not one but two 007 films. I’m told that Logan pitched an original two-movie arc to Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson while they were shooting Skyfall, and that he has already begun writing the scripts. If plans work out, this would be the first Bond film with a storyline to be played out over multiple films, and it certainly makes it feasible that the pictures could be shot back-to-back. (I might be getting ahead of myself here, but anyone named Fleming has to be permitted to froth over James Bond films.) Skyfall opens here November 9, but it is beginning its international rollout this weekend and it is shaping up to be possibly the biggest opening of any film ever in the UK. Read More »

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James Bond Film ‘Skyfall’ Coming One Day Early On IMAX Screens

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday September 27, 2012 @ 3:59pm PDTTags: Daniel Craig, IMAX, James Bond, Skyfall, Sony Pictures
Mike Fleming

BREAKING: Fueled by a tweet from producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, the Sam Mendes-directed James Bond film Skyfall will be released November 8 in North America on IMAX, giving the oversized-screen circuit a one-day jump … Read More »

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