The newest installment of the James Bond franchise arrived a little late in the year in the US, but this did not stop the fans of the movie to troop to the movie houses and make the movie the top dog at the box office. The move by the studios to delay the showing of the movie in the world’s largest movie market perhaps shaped the destiny of the movie at the box office. By effectively delaying the showing of the movie in the US, the two studios stoked an online frenzy.

According to studio estimates the movie’s global cumulative gross through Sunday was pegged at $322 million. According to a studio executive, the figures are a manifestation that the audiences have accepted Daniel Craig as their new James Bond. The strong sales of the movie in the US and in other countries are a big relief for the two studios since the two studios spent large amount of money on the said movie. According to some estimates, the combined budget for the movie is pegged at around $400 million. Sony places the figures much lower due to tax credits.

If the fans and the viewers loved the new movie from James Bond, the critics thought otherwise. Critics bashed the movie and complained that the filmmakers veered away from the franchise’s signature story elements. The movie talks about a bitter James Bond seeking revenge for the death of a lover and assisted by a Russian-Bolivian agent, he stops a criminal from taking control of the country’s water supply. The domestic sales of the ‘Quantum of Solace were sharply higher than that of ‘Casino Royale’, the movie that marked the entry of Daniel Craig as the new James Bond. The previous high mark for the franchise was the ‘Die Another Day’ movie which starred Pierce Brosnan.

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