LOS ANGELES -- James Bond's "Skyfall" has extended its worldwide box-office rule to North America, hauling in a franchise-record $87.8 million in its first weekend at U.S. theaters.
Adding in $2.2 million from Thursday night previews at IMAX and other large-format theaters, "Skyfall" has taken in $90 million domestically, according to studio estimates Sunday.
That lifts the worldwide total for "Skyfall" to $518.6 million since it began rolling out overseas in late October.
The third installment starring Daniel Craig as British super-spy Bond, "Skyfall" outdid the $67.5 million U.S. debut of 2008's "Quantum of Solace," the franchise's previous best opening.
The Craig era has reinvigorated one of Hollywood's most enduring franchises, whose first big-screen Bond adventure, "Dr. No," debuted 50 years ago.
Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" had a huge start in a handful of theaters. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th president, "Lincoln" took in $900,000 in 11 theaters for a whopping average of $81,818 a cinema.
"Lincoln" centers on the months leading up to the president's assassination in April 1865, as he maneuvers to pass the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery, and to end the Civil War.
The film has strong Academy Awards prospects for two-time directing winner Spielberg, two-time acting recipient Day-Lewis and the rest of the cast, which includes Oscar winners Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.
