Box Office Recap: ‘Spectre’ Defeats ‘Peanuts’ With $73M

James Bond and Charlie Brown revived the box office this weekend. Spectre dominated with $73 million across 3,972 locations, while The Peanuts Movie thrived with $45 million for a second place finish.

“It’s a great story, James Bond and Charlie Brown, two iconic characters over 50 years old,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior box office analyst for Rentrak.  “It took Bond and Brown to get the box office back on track.”

Spectre is the second-biggest Bond debut behind 2012’s Skyfall ($88.4 million). Although it received the worst reviews of any Bond movie Daniel Craig has appeared in, the film earned a 62 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and an A minus CinemaScore from moviegoers – who were 62 percent male and 75 percent over the age of 25.

Sam Smith on the Making of SPECTRE Theme Song

“Unquestionably, this is a big, big success in America, the second-biggest Bond movie debut ever here. And this is already a smash global success,” Dergarabedian says.

Skyfall‘s Sam Mendes returned to direct Spectre, which follows 007 as he travels the globe attempting to uncover a threatening organization. Christoph Waltz joins as the villain, while Lea Seydoux and Monica Bellucci star as the new Bond girls.

Meet the Bond Girls of SPECTRE

While Spectre saw an older audience, The Peanuts Movie appealed to families as it fell in second place when it debuted across 3,897 theaters. The adaptation of Charles Schulz’s comic strip follows Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the gang as they embark on an epic journey when Snoopy takes to the skies to pursue arch-nemesis, the Red Baron. With strong reviews, the family film earned an A CinemaScore from audiences – who were 70 percent families and 55 percent female – and an 86 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics.

“With the strong exit polls and being able to hit all segments of the moviegoing audience, I think we’ve launched a new franchise for younger people and reinvigorated it for everyone who grew up with the Peanuts gang,” said Fox distribution chief Chris Aronson.

Coming in third place at the box office is Fox and Ridley Scott’s holdover The Martian, starring Matt Damon, with $9.3 million for a domestic total of $197.1 million. Sony’s family film Goosebumps, starring Jack Black as author R.L. Stine, followed in fourth place with $7 million for a domestic total of $66.5 million.

Rounding out the top five is Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, starring Tom Hanks, with $6.1 million for a domestic total of $55 million.

Top 10 Films at Weekend Box Office: November 6-8

1. Spectre — $73 million
2. The Peanuts Movie — $45 million
3. The Martian — $9.3 million
4. Goosebumps — $7 million
5. Bridge of Spies — $6.1 million
6. Hotel Transylvania 2 — $3.6 million
7. Burnt — $3 million
8. The Last Witch Hunter — $2.7 million
9. The Intern — $1.8 million
10. Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension — $1.7 million