Happy Feet just wins the battle against Casino Royale at the US box office according to Variety:
A cadre of singing and dancing penguins beat out the monkey-suited international superspy James Bond at the B.O. this weekend, as Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow’s CG-animated “Happy Feet” skipped to No. 1 with $42.3 million thanks to a particularly strong Saturday run.
Meanwhile the trade paper also reports that Casino Royale is doing very good business around the world:
James Bond returned with a bang at the international box office as “Casino Royale” dominated the weekend with $42.2 million at 3,063 playdates in 27 markets.
“Casino” hit the jackpot in its U.K. launch with $25.6 million at 988, including $3.7 million in previews. Its Friday-Sunday take tied “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” as the second-highest weekend launch in Brit history, trailing only “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”
With Daniel Craig in his first turn as Bond, the Blighty opening handily topped the previous Bond pic, “Die Another Day,” by 46%.
“Casino Royale” took in more than the combined foreign grosses of the next four pics — “Borat,” “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Open Season.” Combined with its second-place domestic take, “Casino” totaled $82.8 million worldwide for the weekend.
The Bond film also scored a record opening in the UK.