Quantum of Solace Outdoes Expectations

James Bond’s latest heroics have taken the world by storm, once again. Quantum of Solace, the newest Bond flick to hit the silver screens, has grossed $107.3 million at 10,079 play dates in 60 markets, making it the 11th highest weekend till date. The movie is all set to eclipse the $429 million international total for Casino Royale.

Worries over the looming economic recession, as also the mixed reviews garnered by the latest Bond flick during the Nov. 7-9 time frame, could not dampen the spirit of movie-goers who literally lapped up the film on an international scale. Going by the proceeds, it appears that an economic downturn is perhaps, not all that imminent.

Quantum of Solace opened a week earlier on Oct. 31 in the U.K., France, and Sweden, taking up the foreign cume or cumulative audience, to $161.1 million as of Nov. 9. Weekdays recorded about $10 million daily, which catapulted the movie to around $200 million before the Nov. 14 launch in the United States.

Quantum of Solace had record-breaking openings in Switzerland at $3.8 million, Finland at $1.7 million, and the United Arab Emirates at $1 million. It was a hit almost everywhere. In China, its $9.1 million debut was the second largest ever for a non-Chinese movie. In India, the movie fared second-best among Hollywood entries with a $3.7 million launch.

In the U.K. the figures dipped 40% to $14.4 million for a cume of $49.2 million. Quantum of Solace was seen to completely dominate U.K. cinema trade. Germany had the biggest opening so far this year with the movie raking in a whopping $15 million. It was also the best ever draw for a Bond film in that country.

In Italy, the new Bond offering scored $3.9 million from 467 in a flat frame for an $8,270 per-screen average, way surpassing expectations. The figures belied the popular notion of the country as a slack follower of Bond action thrillers.

In France, the movie slid 42% in its second week, keeping up the scales at 2.5 million admissions in the first 10 days. Worldwide, most studios steered clear of a head-on clash with the Bond movie.

The initial Quantum of Solace numbers coming in seem even more impressive given that the movie still has not opened in Australia, Japan, Mexico, and Spain. The Spanish, however, are not known to be too fond of Bond.

Observers say that the value of the dollar having strengthened in recent months by about 20%, the foreign numbers for Quantum of Solace would have been still significantly higher had the film launched last summer.