‘Spectre’ Sets U.K. Box Office Alight with Biggest Bond Opening Ever

While domestic fare like Burnt and Our Brand is Crisis are both languishing at the box office – Spectre the latest installment in the still thriving Bond franchise is enjoying an immensely profitable reception abroad.

Actor Daniel Craig may want to think twice before going into a self-imposed retirement considering that his latest entry raked in $80.4 million during its opening week – making it easily the biggest opening in U.K. history.

Spectre – directed by Sam Mendes and also starring Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, and Monica Bellucci is also scorching trails in other territories, like the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

Looks like the European market is ripe for the suave superspy who likes his martini shaken not stirred. There is every reason to believe that American audiences will respond with similar enthusiasm when the film hits theaters Nov. 6. Analysts expect nothing less than an $80 million opening based on how well it’s performing at the foreign box office.

Specttre reportedly cost $250 million to make not to mention the budget for marketing so the expectations were reasonably quite high. There was also the pressure to out perform its predecessor, 2012’s Skyfall that not only ended up being the highest grossing Bond film in history but was also the first film to surpass the $1 billion dollar mark.

If the high-performing film continues its winning streak, it is quite possible that it could match or even exceed Skfall’s imposing record.

Craig single-handedly revived the dignity of James Bond 007 after his future was threatened by a decade of unimaginative adventures and actors like Pierce Bronson who seemed ill equipped to adequately handle the sophisticatedly wild assignments he was dictated.

With this latest triumph – it is safe to assume that this won’t be the last we will see of Bond or Daniel Craig.