MI6 looks ahead to James Bond's box-office competition on both sides of the Atlantic during the "Skyfall" run...

Skyfall Box-Office Competition

4th June 2012 / 18th July 2012

Things are looking good for the 23rd James Bond adventure's box-office potential. Only the morose vampires from the "Twilight" saga may pose a significant threat to "Skyfall" making the most of its early box-office run in the USA if the current release schedule holds, although how much audience overlap there is between the two juggernaut franchises is questionable. 007 will at least be free and clear from the blood suckers at IMAX locations. Aside from comedies, the traditionally strong Thanksgiving weekend is absent any adult high-profile releases, so it will be up to 007 and the vampires to fill the void on the four day weekend.

A couple of weeks earlier in the UK, Hollywood crime thriller "Alex Cross" opens opposite 007 on October 26th, and a smaller threat comes from Liam Neeson's "Taken 2", but only if it holds over strongly for three weeks.

Week
UK
USA
5th October

Taken 2 - Action
In Istanbul, retired CIA operative Bryan Mills and his wife are taken hostage by the father of a kidnapper Mills killed while rescuing his daughter.
Director: Olivier Megaton
Stars: Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace, Rade Serbedzija

12th October

Argo - Thriller
As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA 'exfiltration' specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador.
Director: Ben Affleck
Stars: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Michael Cassidy

19th October

Paranormal Activity 4 - Horror
The plot is undisclosed at this time. It is unlikely to be complicated.
Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Stars: Katie Featherston

 

The Wedding - Comedy
A long-divorced couple fakes being married as their family unites for a wedding.
Director: Justin Zackham
Stars: Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Katherine Heigl, Amanda Seyfried

26th October

Skyfall - Action Adventure
Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
Director: Sam Mendes
Stars: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Bérénice Marlohe, Naomie Harris

 
 

Alex Cross - Crime Thriller
After Washington DC detective Alex Cross is told that a family member has been murdered, he vows to track down the killer. He soon discovers that she was not his first victim and that things are not what they seem.
Director: Rob Cohen
Stars: Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox, Rachel Nichols, Edward Burns

 

Fun Size - Comedy
When a troubled but whip-smart teen girl loses her oddball little brother on Halloween, she has one desperate night to track him down.
Director: Josh Schwartz
Stars: Victoria Justice, Johnny Knoxville, Chelsea Handler, Ana Gasteyer

2nd November

Flight - Drama
An airline pilot saves a flight from crashing, but an investigation into the malfunctions reveals something troubling.
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Stars: Denzel Washington, James Badge Dale, John Goodman, Don Cheadle

 

Seven Psychopaths - Comedy
A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.
Director: Martin McDonagh
Stars: Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken

 

Wreck-It Ralph - Animated Comedy
The bad-guy character in a classic game who longs to be a hero brings trouble to his entire arcade after sneaking into a new first-person shooter game and unleashing a deadly enemy.
Director: Rich Moore
Stars: John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Sarah Silverman

9th November  

Skyfall - Action Adventure
Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
Director: Sam Mendes
Stars: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Bérénice Marlohe, Naomie Harris

   

Anna Karenina - Drama
Set in late-19th-century Russia high-society, the aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the affluent Count Vronsky.
Director: Joe Wright
Stars: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Johnson, Matthew Macfadyen

    * Lincoln opens in limited release
16th November

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 - Fantasy Adventure
After the birth of Renesmee, the Cullens gather other vampire clans in order to protect the child from a false allegation that puts the family in front of the Volturi.
Director: Bill Condon
Stars: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Noel Fisher

   

Lincoln - Biopic
The sixteenth President of the United States guides the North to victory during the Civil War.
Director: Joe Wright
Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sally Field

23rd November  

Rise of the Guardians - Animation
When the Boogieman launches an assault on Earth, several mythic beings team up to stop him.
Director: Peter Ramsey
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher, Chris Pine

 

Silver Linings Playbook - Comedy
After spending four years in a mental institution, a former teacher moves back in with his mother and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife.
Director: David O. Russell
Stars: Bradley Cooper, Julia Stiles, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver

   

Parental Guidance - Comedy
When his daughter goes away for work, a grandfather finds himself having to take care of his three grandkids using 21st century methods -- though he soon resorts to an old-school style of parenting.
Director: Andy Fickman
Stars: Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Marisa Tomei, Tom Everett Scott


Schedules subject to change. Additional film releases to be confirmed.