Interestingly, I came across the early list of Batman reboot hopefuls, and it included Cillian Murphy from 28 Days Later who wound up playing villain Scarecrow in Batman Begins, Dawson's Creek star Joshua Jackson, Henry Cavill (I Captured the Castle, Showtime's The Tudors) and Eion Bailey from HBO's Band of Brothers and more recently from ER on NBC. It is amazing how fortunes are made in the movie business. Jackson, Cavill or Bailey might be a household name right now if one of the other of their meetings with Nolan would have gone more swimmingly.

With Christian Bale in the title role, Nolan began "The Reboot Revolution." Batman Begins is brilliant, taking the opportunity to start over by placing Bruce Wayne in a gritty Gotham City. Gone are the fanciful, stylized villains and gimmicks that began piling up in Tim Burton's original 1989 feature and culminated in the ridiculous 1997 Joel Shumacher-directed Batman & Robin, featuring George Clooney as Batman, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze and Uma Thurman as vegetative villain Poison Ivy. It was a joke, and Clooney has been cracking wise about it ever since. Batman Begins went on to gross $205 million domestic, and Nolan's follow-up, The Dark Knight, strengthened the franchise exponentially to the tune of more $525 million domestic.

Not all reboots work. Bryan Singer's 2006 Superman Returns was a critical failure and commercial disappointment (taking in "just" $200 million domestic), and now Warner Bros. will essentially take a "mulligan," rebooting again. In August, Warner Bros. President Jeff Robinov confirmed a new reboot with the Wall Street Journal, saying that the studio will try "going dark to the extent that the characters allow it." (That  Superman. Always and forever a Boy Scout.)

Sony's decision to reboot the Bond franchise was a bit more unorthodox. Whereas Batman had stumbled badly and Superman was off the map altogether, the 007 franchise was riding high with 2002's Die Another Day, starring Pierce Brosnan, the most successful Bond to date at the time, with a little more than $160 million domestic.

Going back to the beginning, creenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, and then, later, Oscar winner Paul Haggis (Crash) faithfully adapted Ian Fleming's 1953 novel Casino Royale. Brosnan had fulfilled his contractual commitment (three films with an option for the fourth, which became Die Another Day), and in 2005, the actor could see the writing on the wall and "stepped down" from future 007 films.

All of this happened while Batman Begins was being developed, but before its June 2005 release. Once Batman scored big, Sony was all-in for a darker Bond character, as Fleming originally intended, and they signed off on the script that put him in a very cruel, realistic world. Daniel Craig formally accepted the Bond "crown" at an October 2005 press conference and Martin Campbell signed on to direct.

Daniel Craig's Bond is closest in spirit to Sean Connery's version, and this 007 has almost nothing to do with the campy Roger Moore take or the more lightweight Brosnan approach. From the beginning of Casino Royale, we know that this is a real man on his first mission with the MI6. Technically, Bond dies in this movie before being revived, using a one-shot defibrillator, and he falls in love with a woman who ultimately dies in his arms. That's a far cry from "shaken, not stirred" and the jokey sexual double entendres of bygone Bonds.

Now, this new Bond — he loves, he bleeds and he can even be killed (theoretically) — is looking for revenge for the death of the woman he loved. For a Quantum of Solace. For my money, 2006's Casino Royale is the best Bond movie ever. And, most importantly for Sony, their rebooted secret agent is spot-on for what is working in the marketplace. Dark worked for Batman, especially The Dark Knight, and I believe that this film is headed for the commercial "sweet spot" of this holiday moviegoing season. I am predicting a $60 million opening weekend, but anything over $50 million will send this one into the box office stratosphere. I believe that Quantum of Solace will be the first film in the Bond franchise to surpass $200 million domestic, and its to-date international grosses speak for themselves.

Needless to say, rebooting can be very good for the movie business.

Solace is the only wide release this week, so I expect a tremendous hold for Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (DreamWorks/Paramount), maybe dipping as little as 35 percent, for an excellent $40 million second weekend. Universal's David Wain-directed Role Models will be a strong No. 3 with a possible $10.7 million, representing only a 44 percent dip from opening weekend. Clint Eastwood's Changeling (Universal) is a likely fourth, continuing to play well with Females 25 Plus and potentially adding $5.3 million, and High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Disney) is likely to round out the Top 5 with $4.8 million or so.

FINAL PREDICTIONS FOR THE WEEKEND OF NOV. 14-16
1. NEW Quantum of Solace (Sony) — $60 million
2. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (DreamWorks/Paramount) — $40 million
3. Role Models (Universal) — $10.7 million
4. Changeling (Universal) — $5.3 million
5. High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Disney) — $4.8 million
6. Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Weinstein) — $4.2 million
7. Soul Men (MGM) — $2.6 million
8. The Secret Life of Bees (Fox Searchlight) — $2.3 million
9. Saw V (Lionsgate) — $2 million
10. Eagle Eye (DreamWorks/Paramount) — $1.9 million