Casino Royale is on course to become the highest grossing Bond movie following a bumper opening weekend at the box office.
Daniel Craig's first appearance as the suave spy has won rave reviews and racked up £13 million in ticket sales, beating the previous £9.1 million opening record set by Die Another Day, which starred Pierce Brosnan.
Peter Taylor, of distributor Sony Pictures, said: "It's the most successful opening weekend of any Bond film. The takings are 40 per cent of Die Another Day. It is in the top three weekend openings of all time."
However, while the current 21st Bond film is likely to beat the worldwide £240 million total grossed by Brosnan's last appearance in the role in 2002, when adjusted for inflation it falls far short of Sean Connery's efforts in the Sixties.
Connery's 1965 appearance in Thunderball made £460million in today's terms and occupies the top spot. The previous year's Goldfinger takes second spot and Roger Moore's 1973 Live And Let Die is in third place with £375 million. Die Another Day only makes it to the No 9 spot.
