Skyfall earns James Bond biggest U.S. debut ever

Daniel Craig has helped the James Bond franchise score its biggest U.S. opening ever with Skyfall after grossing a massive £54.88 million at the box office.

The latest 007 adventure, directed by Sam Mendes, was officially released in North America on Friday and it easily charmed its way to the top of the film chart.

An additional £1.38 million was earned from exclusive Thursday screenings in IMAX theatres, taking its U.S. total to £56.26 million in its opening weekend.

The huge figure crushed Craig's last outing as the suave superspy - Quantum of Solace debuted Stateside in November, 2008 with an impressive £42.19 million haul - and boosted Skyfall's worldwide gross to £324.13 million.

Last week's U.S. number one, the animated Wreck-It Ralph, slips to two with £20.7 million, while Denzel Washington's Flight is at three with £9.4 million.

Meanwhile, Steven Spielberg's Oscar-tipped Lincoln, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as the former U.S. President, was a big hit on limited release, grossing £562,500 from just 11 screens, meaning it even outperformed Skyfall with a per-screen average of £51,136 to Bond's £15,656.