Spectre rules global BO

James Bond and Charlie Brown brought the box office roaring back to life, as “Spectre” and “The Peanuts Movie” attracted big crowds over their opening weekends.

“Spectre,” the latest 007 adventure, took first place, debuting to $73 million from 3,929 theaters — a hefty figure and the second-highest debut in series history, but one that nevertheless trails the launch of “Skyfall.” Going into the weekend, tracking suggested that the film would debut to $80 million, but the strength of “The Peanuts Movie” and some critical grousing about plot holes wide enough to drive an Aston Martin through may have depressed ticket sales.

Internationally, however, “Spectre” remains a juggernaut, pulling in $200 million and pushing its worldwide total to more than $300 million after two weeks in release.

With a production budget of $250 million and millions more in marketing costs, “Spectre” has to pull in $650 million globally to break even.