Casino Royale becomes the highest grossing James Bond film to date

26-Dec-2006 • Casino Royale

"Casino Royale" has shot past the worldwide record for a James Bond movie, thanks mostly to strong international performance over the Christmas holiday weekend - reports Variety.

Sony's "Casino" cashed in overseas with $14.5 million at 6,300 during the weekend through Sunday, lifting the foreign total to $304.4 million -- the 41st biggest international gross of all time. It's only the fourth 2006 pic to clear $300 million, joining "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," "The Da Vinci Code" and "Ice Age: The Meltdown."

With domestic gross near $144 million, "Casino" has a worldwide total of $448 million -- $17 million better than "Die Another Day," the previous best Bond performer. It opened solidly in South Korea with $2.3 million at 350.

"Casino" looks likely to tack on another $5 million internationally on Christmas Day, even though theaters will be closed in some markets such as the U.K.

Thanks to `DaltonRules!` & `Clay` for the alert.