Box Office Report: 'Skyfall' Headed For $80 Million Debut, Tops Friday With $30.8 Mil

8:43 AM PST 11/10/2012 by Pamela McClintock

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Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

The James Bond pic, starring Daniel Craig, has already earned north of $350 million overseas; Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" does promising business as it opens in 11 theaters domestically, nabs $24,376 location average.

James Bond is back with a vengeance.

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Skyfall topped the domestic box office on Friday with a stellar $30.8 million; combined with the $2.2 million earned Thursday in IMAX and other large-format runs, the movie's total is $33 million. Worldwide, the film has earned nearly $400 million.

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Directed by Sam Mendes and starring Daniel Craig, the MGM/Sony event pic is headed for a domestic debut in the $80 million range. That would be the top opening for a Bond title, not accounting for inflation.

Quantum of Solace debuted to $67.5 million in mid-November 2008, a series best, while Casino Royale -- marking Craig's first turn as 007 -- opened to $40.8 million in November 2006.

Excluding the $2.2 Thursday number, Skyfall's three-day opening is projected to be $77.8 million.

Produced by EON, the 23rd installment in the iconic spy franchise earned an A CinemaScore, mirroring strong reviews.

EON Productions and MGM are partners on Skyfall, while Sony has marketing and distribution duties.

Skyfall has already done massive business overseas, grossing well north of $347 million through Thursday.

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This time out, cinema's most famous spy must save both M -- again played by Judi Dench -- and MI6 from former operative-turned-villain Raoul Silva, played by Javier Bardem. The movie also stars Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Lim Marlohe and Albert Finney.

Skyfall cost roughly $200 million to make after rebates.

Friday also brought good news for Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, which DreamWorks and Disney are opening in 11 markets this weekend. The historical drama, starring Daniel Day Lewis, grossed $268,000 for the day, putting its location avenue at a promising $24,376.

Box office observers believe Lincoln could post a weekend screen average of roughly $80,000.

Spielberg hopes to play off the presidential election and the heightened interest in politics.