Bond vs. penguins in box-office battle of tuxedos

French actress Eva Green is the new Bond girl.

The Bond franchise, one of the most enduring in film history, has grossed some $3.7 billion at the worldwide box office. Craig's immediate successor, Pierce Brosnan, proved the biggest commercial success of all, with each of his films grossing over $300 million worldwide.

Brosnan's last Bond film, "Die Another Day," scored the biggest opening weekend ever for a Bond film exactly four years ago, grossing $47 million in its first three days and going on to rake in more than $430 million globally.

"Bond has the built-in audience, it's hugely hyped and unique in the market," Gray said. "'Happy Feet' is not unique in the market. There have been tons of computer-animated features this year, and very few of them have performed above expectations."

Leading online ticket service Fandango.com showed "Casino" leading its advance sales, accounting for 50 percent of its business on Friday, compared with 28 percent for "Happy Feet."

The big wild card for this weekend's box-office race is the hit comedy "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."

The mock documentary starring British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen as a cluelessly offensive, oversexed TV reporter from Central Asia, was the No. 1 film of the past two weeks and is likely to land somewhere in the top five again this weekend.