Bond sets US box office record

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Daniel Craig

The new Bond film, Quantum of Solace, has set a new opening record for a Bond film at the US box office.

The latest outing for the action hero took more than $70m (£47.4m) at the North American box office on its opening weekend.

Quantum of Solace, starring Daniel Craig… mmm, sorry, where were we?... yes, Daniel Craig, pushed last week's number one film, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, into second place.

'It's totally extraordinary. Everybody is really loving the movie,' says Rory Bruer, president of Columbia Pictures distribution.

The previous record for a Bond debut was held by Die Another Day, which took $47.1m across the US and Canada in 2002.

Casino Royale, the first film starring Daniel Craig… mmm, blue eyes, ahem… took $40.8m.

Analysts say box office takings in the US are up by 54 per cent compared with the same weekend last year, while takings for the whole of 2008 are up 1 per cent on 2007.

The Thanksgiving holiday next weekend is traditionally one of the biggest for the US movie industry.

The BBC says new releases expected to boost ticket sales include vampire romance Twilight and animated comedy Bolt, featuring the voices of John Travolta and Miley Cyrus.