Spectre has scored the biggest ever debut at the UK box office.
The 24th Bond film took a massive £41.7m ($63.8m) during its first seven days on release, beating the previous seven-day record held by 2004’s Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban. Spectre opened in the UK and Ireland last Monday (October 26) but doesn’t arrive in US theatres until this Friday (November 6). Variety reports that it could take as much as $80m (£51.8m) over its opening weekend in the US, which would nevertheless be slightly down on previous Bond film Skyfall, which raked in $88m (£57.0m) over its opening weekend in 2012.
Skyfall, which like Spectre was directed by Sam Mendes, went on the become the highest-grossing Bond film ever with global box office takings of $1.109bn (£718.7m). With Spectre about to open in the US, Daniel Craig’s future as 007 remains uncertain. Though the actor recently said he would rather “slash my wrists” than make another Bond film, he has since backtracked slightly and hinted that he has yet to make up his mind about a fifth appearance as the world’s most famous secret agent.