Spectre Finally Puts Box Office Out of Its Misery

It took the combination of James Bond and Charlie Brown to save the box office with the openings of both Spectre and The Peanuts Movie after a disastrous few weekends of flops. Spectre took an easy first-place spot with an estimated $73 million, according to Rentrak estimates Sunday, failing to reach the $88.4 million opening of 2012's Skyfall. The 24th film in the Bond series stars Daniel Craig as the dapper spy and cost a reported $250 million to produce. Spectre is now the second-highest opening for Craig in his four Bond films.

"It's a great story, James Bond and Charlie Brown, two iconic characters over 50 years old," a Rentrak analyst tells USA Today. "It took Bond and Brown to get the box office back on track." Providing a family-friendly alternative to James Bond's guns and martinis, Fox's animated The Peanuts Movie took second place with a strong $45 million debut. The film cost around $100 million to make. (More James Bond stories.)