Over the weekend, Skyfall entered that elusive club of films that have grossed over $1bn. around the world, bringing the total number now to a healthy fourteen.
That wasn’t the film’s only achievement, however, with the latest entry in the James Bond franchise taking another milestone at the UK box office.
At the start of December, Sam Mendes’ film became the highest-grossing film of all time at the UK box office, beating out James Cameron’s Avatar which had held the record at £94m.
Fast forward a few weeks, and Skyfall has now broken the nine-figure barrier, making it the first film to ever gross more than £100m. (approx. $160m.) at the UK box office.
Now, $160m. might not sound like much compared to the likes of US box office figures, but let’s have a little fun with some numbers:
The US population is currently about 5 times bigger than that of the UK. Avatar is the highest-grossing film domestically in the US, with $760m. If we times Skyfall’s figure on our shores by 5, we come to an impressive $800m., making Skyfall (on average) even more successful in the UK than Avatar was in the US.
Regardless of how you look at the numbers, it’s an incredible feat for a film to cross that £100m. mark here in the UK, and is definitely a good sign that there’s still so much life in the film industry, despite what some pessimists might have you believe.
With more and more films breaking these incredible barriers – whether it be the $1bn. around the world, or any other records – it’s nice to see the numbers are still on the increase, and there’s no doubt that we can look forward to many more in the years to come joining the likes of $1bn. around the world and £100m. here in the UK.
It’s been an incredibly big year for more than a handful of movies, with a total of three films grossing over $1bn. this year, in the form of Skyfall, The Avengers, and The Dark Knight Rises. And with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey still playing strong having only been released for two weeks, we’re all but guaranteed to see that aforementioned club’s member list rise to an even healthier fifteen.
Skyfall is still playing across the UK and US, and will be released on DVD and Blu-ray here in the UK on 18th February, 2013. Odds are pretty good that it will continue to break records when it lands on the shelves. And with talk already underway about a sequel/s, we’ve got plenty more to look forward to down the line.
“London, 31st December, 2012 – Eon Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment are delighted to announce that Skyfall, the UK’s most successful film of all time, continues to smash box office records and has now taken a staggering £100,460,679, the first film in box office history to cross the £100m mark.
SKYFALL, the 23rd James Bond adventure, continuing the longest running and most successful franchise in film history opened in 587 cinemas across the UK and Ireland on Friday 26th October 2012, and is still on general release. Additionally, the film has generated more than $1 billion in ticket sales worldwide.
Daniel Craig is back as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 in SKYFALL™, the 23rd adventure in the longest-running film franchise of all time. In SKYFALL, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. The film is from Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Directed by Sam Mendes. Produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. Written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and John Logan.”
