Weekend Box Office

For the last couple of years it's been a new release that comes along to knock a TWILIGHT movie from its place at the top of the chart, but this time our favorite suave yet scrappy superspy James Bond accomplished the task.

Despite being released a week earlier than the finale of the sparkle-vamp saga, this weekend SKYFALLevicted THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN (PART 2) from the #1 spot with $11 million.

007's latest is also the greatest, at least as box office goes: SKYFALL's worldwide total is now $918.2 million, making it the biggest release ever from Sony Pictures (beating out SPIDER-MAN 3's global $890.9M take). And in the UK, it has even surpassed AVATAR as the highest-grossing movie.

Still, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN (PART 2) may have been displaced to third, but it currently has a higher domestic haul than SKYFALL. But that $268.7 million total ranks it fourth in the TWILIGHT franchise, still below BREAKING DAWN (PART 1)'s $281.2 million. BREAKING DAWN (PART 2) does have the biggest worldwide total of the series, however, with $751.1 million.

Coming in behind Daniel Craig at #2 was RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, enjoying its highest placement on the chart since its release on November 21st. It's possible that is due to it being the only holiday-themed movie in wide release at the moment, but its $61.9 million total probably isn't filling Dreamworks/Paramount execs with cheer (although it's at $152.4M worldwide).

Spielberg's LINCOLN is staked out at #4 as it closes in on the $100 million mark, and LIFE OF PI is treading water in fifth place. Director Ang Lee's big-budget book adaptation seems to be more popular overseas, where it's netted an additional $105 million.

PLAYING FOR KEEPS was perhaps hoping for some surprise counterprogramming success after NEW YEAR'S EVE supplanted a TWILIGHT movie last year, but the new romcom thudded in sixth with just $6 million. Between this and the recent CHASING MAVERICKS ($5.8M total), the year hasn't been kind to Gerard Butler, although that could really be said of nearly everything he's been in since his breakthrough 300 opened to $70M in 2007 and went on to $456 million worldwide. Then again, THE UGLY TRUTH made over $200M globally, so maybe he's doing something right after all...

WRECK-IT RALPH, the RED DAWN remake and FLIGHT are still hanging in there, while Brad Pitt's latest KILLING THEM SOFTLY is about to make an exit. The horror sequel THE COLLECTION has already slipped from view, while outside the chart, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK continues strong business ($14M total on 371 screens) and Bill Murray's HYDE PARK ON HUDSON had a $20k per-screen average in limited release.

Everyone wisely chose to avoid competing with next weekend's single new release, filmmaker Peter Jackson's return to Middle Earth THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY.

How much do you think THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY will open with next weekend?