Box office boom for James Bond

Daniel Craig's latest outing as James Bond has shot to the top of the box office rankings around the world and notched up one of the biggest UK openings of all time.

But Skyfall, the 23rd Bond movie, failed to topple the record set by Harry Potter, with 007 scoring the second biggest Friday-to-Sunday opening weekend in UK history.

The movie took an estimated £20.1 million in the UK, making it the biggest opening of the year so far, reported Deadline.

But it failed to smash the UK record set by Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2, the final film in the boy wizard series, which was released in 3D last year.

In the UK, Skyfall also beat the opening weekends of previous Bond films with Daniel in the title role, Casino Royale and the follow-up Quantum Of Solace.

The movie notched up 77.7 million US dollars (£48.3 million) across the globe, and was number one in every country where it opened.

Later, the filmmakers announced Skyfall had "made history" as "the biggest Bond opening weekend of all time" in the UK.

Bond producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said: "We are absolutely overwhelmed with the reaction to Skyfall this weekend. It is particularly thrilling as the UK is home to James Bond and it being the 50th anniversary year."

Skyfall, which opens in the US on November 9, has also smashed the record for the most attended film on a Saturday in the UK.

The Potter finale took £23 million in its first three days of general release in the UK.