Skyfall's opening week at the UK box office means that Eon and Sony probably won't be short of a bob or £37.2m to celebrate the rest of 007's 50th anniversary. That's the figure Sam Mendes' lovingly crafted addition to the canon scooped up in its first seven days on release.
It's a whopping sum that catapults it past Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and into the record books as the biggest seven day gross in UK box-office history.
Skyfall isn't out in the US until Friday, where the strong word of mouth from around the world should fuel receipts. If this release strategy works a fraction as well as it did for The Avengers, expect more good news for the studio beancounters.
Following news of the Star Wars reboot, which Kathleen Kennedy will no doubt be piloting with as much intelligence as Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have Bond, it's more food for thought for fans of smartly executed, cannily-managed franchises. As Empire's review points out, Skyfall is "pretty much all you could want from a 21st Century Bond". | 
