“Spectre” and “The Peanuts Movie” are rejuvenating a recently sleepy box office.
“Spectre,” the 24th James Bond film, has set its sights on a weekend haul of $75 million after pulling in $28 million from 3,929 locations on Friday. The Sony, MGM and EON, release — directed by Sam Mendes and starring Daniel Craig, Naomie Harris and Lea Seydoux — had been pegged to generate as much as $80 million in its first weekend. Considering “Spectre’s” Thursday night take of $5.25 million and a Friday total under the anticipated $30 million mark, however, the latest Bond outing is pacing to fall short of “Skyfall’s” $88.4 million debut and land in the mid-$70 million range, in line with Sony’s conservative estimates.
Carrying a hefty budget of $250 million, plus an additional $100 million in marketing and promotion costs, “Spectre” will have to rake in $650 million worldwide to break even. Variety’s review, though, anticipates a warm welcome for the film: “A wealth of iconography — both incidental and integral — from the series’ founding chapters is revived here, making ‘Spectre’ a particular treat for 007 nerds, and a businesslike blast for everyone else.”
“The Peanuts Movie,” drawing a slightly smaller but similarly spirited audience, is on track for a three-day total of $46 million after taking in $12 million from 3,897 locations on Friday. The 20th Century Fox release from Blue Sky Studios is based on the beloved comic-strip characters created by Charles M. Schulz. Directed by Steve Martino, this 3D animated endeavor is the first feature-length movie to star Charlie Brown and his pals since they were created 65 years ago. Variety’s review of the toon praises it as a “gorgeous fan’s-best-friend adaptation” that “presents a wholesome, goody-goody view of childhood emotional challenges.”
Recent B.O. champs “The Martian” and “Goosebumps” are taking a backseat to Bond and Brown for the weekend. Matt Damon’s “The Martian” took in $2.5 million on Friday, forecasting a three-day take around $9 million. Jack Black starrer “Goosebumps” generated about $1.7 million on Friday, which should result in a weekend total near $7 million.
Via Variety
| Title | weekend | gross | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Spectre (2015) | $73.00M | $73.00M | 1 | |
 |
The Peanuts Movie (2015) | $45.00M | $45.00M | 1 | |
 |
The Martian (2015) | $9.30M | $197.07M | 6 | |
 |
Goosebumps (2015) | $6.97M | $66.44M | 4 | |
 |
Bridge of Spies (2015) | $6.09M | $54.97M | 4 | |
 |
Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) | $3.55M | $161.29M | 7 | |
 |
Burnt (2015) | $3.00M | $10.21M | 2 | |
 |
The Last Witch Hunter (2015) | $2.65M | $23.57M | 3 | |
 |
The Intern (2015) | $1.81M | $71.41M | 7 | |
 |
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015) | $1.65M | $16.28M | 3 |