Weekend Box Office: 'Quantum of Solace' Breaks Bond Record

For a franchise that's more than 45 years old, Bond is on one hell of a kick. Ever since Pierce Brosnan took over in 1995, every James Bond film has grossed more than the last, and that trend will continue with Quantum of Solace. The awkwardly-titled 22nd film in the franchise beat the previous Bond opening weekend record -- held, actually, by Die Another Day, which was eventually passed by Casino Royale later in its release -- by, oh, $23 million. Quantum's $70.4 million bow is also the third highest opening of 2008, behind only Iron Man, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Dark Knight.

And that, actually, is pretty much all there is to report for the wide releases, since Quantum of Solace scared everyone else off the date. Last weekend's winners, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Role Models both held up well, with the former pulling ahead of Wall-E. The Secret Life of Bees hangs around at #8, proving to be a fall sleeper. Saw V will, as expected, finish just behind its immediate predecessor.

The full list of estimates, after the jump.
1 - Quantum of Solace (Sony) - $70.40 ($20,400) - $70.40
2 - Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (Dreamworks/Paramount) - $36.3 ($8,888) - $118.02
3 - Role Models (Universal) - $11.71 ($4,185) - $38.14
4 - High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Disney) - $5.88 ($1,836) - $84.39
5 - Changeling (Universal) - $4.25 ($2,240) - $27.63
6 - Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Weinstein) - $3.20 ($1,448) - $26.52
7 - Soul Men (MGM) - $2.43 ($1,186) - $9.45
8 - The Secret Life of Bees (Fox Searchlight) - $2.40 ($1,656) - $33.69
9 - Saw V (Lionsgate) - $1.79 ($894) - $55.40
10 - The Haunting of Molly Hartley (Freestyle) - $1.65 ($1,039) - $12.70

Next week: How big will Twilight be, and what, if anything, will it do to Bond? Will Bolt knock Madagascar down a peg? It should be a busy weekend.