It appears that Agent 007’s 22nd adventure was incredibly well received in the U.S.A. this weekend. “Quantum of Solace” arrived like a tropical storm and sold $70.4 million worth of tickets in its first three days of release across the United States and Canada. Industry pundits had forecast an opening in the $60 million range. In other words Daniel Craig's second outing as the British secret agent, which has already banked more than $250 mil overseas, fared far better in its domestic debut.

The new film also earned $56.1 million in 73 countries during the weekend. Having begun its international run two weeks ago, the foreign total now stands at $251.6 million. With a worldwide haul of $322 million, the film is fast approaching the $594 million tally of "Casino Royale."

The record for a Bond opening in North America was held by "Die Another Day," which earned $47.1 million during its first weekend in November 2002. That film was the last one starring Pierce Brosnan. Based on 2002 admission prices, about 8.1 million tickets were sold for "Die Another Day" in the first weekend, compared to 9.8 million for "Quantum of Solace."

As a bird’s eye view across the world, the Mexico debut contributed $2.4 million from 505 screens, a record opening gross for a Bond title in the market. In Hungary, "Solace" grabbed $430,000 from 34 sites for a lusty per-screen average of $12,647. That was also a record market opening for a 007 title. "Solace" after three frames out overseas has already passed surpassed "Casino Royale's" market gross totals in these territories: France, China, Korea, Russia, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Indonesia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Poland, Romania and the Ukraine. Openings this week are set for Australia, Spain, South Africa and Peru. Its overseas run concludes with a January 24 Japan opening. However the biggest holdover market for "Solace" remained the U.K., where it grossed $8.6 million (down 41% from last round) from 1,218 screens for a market cume of $64.1 million. Second biggest holdover was Germany, which provided $8.3 million (down 37% from last frame) from 1,120 sites for a market cume of 26.4 million.

The best thing about his film is the fact that it seems so real, there is no computer-generated imagery, just a lot of great stunt work. This is the first Bond film that opens with a pre-credits car chase. Unlike most of Bond's previous Astons, this one doesn't do tricks. There are no rockets, on-board machine guns, oil sprayers, or ejector seat. But still Craig’s bond is too fast and somewhat confusing in this one. Now he's less on a mission than a killing marathon. Director Marc Forster's (“Finding Neverland”, “Monster’s Ball”) globe-trotting addition to the franchise features more chases and gunfights than real drama. But a high level of violence and Bond's sexual pleasure-seeking are somewhat offset by a story line contrasting vengeance with forgiveness.