Bond film smashes record
2006-12-27 22:11
Los Angeles - The latest James Bond movie Casino Royale has become the highest-earning 007 thriller of all time, it was reported on Wednesday.
The critically-acclaimed film, featuring Daniel Craig playing the British superspy for the first time, has passed the previous box-office record held by a Bond movie, the $431m earned by 2002's Die Another Day.
So far, Casino Royale has raked in $448m worldwide since its opening in November, Variety reported.
The film has won rave reviews for its gritty, back-to-basics rebooting of the Bond format, doing away with the impossible gadgets and implausible storylines of recent years in favour of a character-driven plot.
Die-hard fans had been appalled by the decision to hand the role of their hero to the blue-eyed, fair-haired Craig. But the actor has won over the sceptics with a gritty performance that have earned him comparisons with Sean Connery, often regarded as the quintessential Bond.
- SAPA