In a slow session Skyfall leapfrogged The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 to reclaim its earlier number one spot and reach $261.6m after five weekends.

Skyfall’s crowing achievement however is the news that it has become Sony’s biggest worldwide release in history (See separate story.)

DreamWorks Animation’s Rise Of The Guardians also climbed one place to number two and has reached $61.9m through Paramount after three weekends in release. The film’s promising international run has produced $91m so far and is starting to compensate for the lacklustre North American performance.

Breaking Dawn – Part 2 stands at $268.7m after four and while it continues to rank fourth in the five-film franchise at the North American box office, it has broken records elsewhere.

The supernatural adventure has been the cream of the crop internationally for more than a week and Lionsgate sources announced over the weekend that it is now the biggest worldwide performer of the series on $751.1m.

FilmDistrict opened the Gerard Butler-Jessica Biel rom-com Playing For Keeps in sixth place on $6m from 2,837 sites for a disappointing $2,115 per-theatre average.

Two live-action Oscar contenders in the top ten continued to impress. DreamWorks’ Lincoln stands at $97.3m through Buena Vista after five weekends in release while Paramount’s Flight stands at $86.2m after six.

Focus Features opened Hyde Park On Hudson on $83,000 from four for a terrific $20,825 per-site average. The awards hopeful premiered at Telluride and stars Bill Murray as FDR and Laura Linney as his cousin and romance interest.

Box office will bounce back next weekend when Warner Bros unleashes New Line and MGM’s return to Middle Earth in the form of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey starring Martin Freeman and Ian McKellen and directed by Peter Jackson.

Estimated Top 10 North America Dec 7-9 2012
Film (Dist) / Est wkd gross / Est total to date

1 (2) Skyfall (Sony/MGM/Eon) SPRI/MGM $11m $261.6m

2 (3) Rise Of The Guardians (Paramount-DWks Animation) PPI $10.5m $61.9m

3 (1) The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (Summit-Lionsgate) Summit/Lionsgate Int’l $9.2m $268.7m

4 (4) Lincoln (DWks-Buena Vista) Fox Int’l $9.1m $97.3m

5 (5) Life Of Pi (Fox) Fox Int’l $8.3m $60.9m

6 (-) Playing For Keeps (FilmDistrict) Nu Image $6m –

7 (6) Wreck-It Ralph (Buena Vista) WDSMPI $4.9m $164.4m

8 (8) Red Dawn (FilmDistrict) FilmNation $4.3m $37.3m

9 (9) Flight (Paramount) PPI-Sierra/Affinity $3.1m $86.2m

10 (7) Killing Them Softly (TWC) TWC Int’l $2.7m $11.8m