Why the new James Bond may have a tough time hitting box-office goals

The 24th film in the 007 franchise, "Spectre," is off to an impressive start. It's broken records in the UK, but there will need to be a lot more cash brought in to break even.

Variety has crunched the numbers, and according to the trade publication, the film will have to make $650 million to turn a profit.

Now, that may sound like a layup given that over the summer movies like "Jurassic World," "Furious 7," "Minions," and "Age of Ultron" all made over $1 billion worldwide. But the last Bond movie, "Skyfall," was the only one in the franchise's history to gross over $650 million ($1.1 billion worldwide).

In fact, no Bond film before "Skyfall" ever cracked the $600 million mark.

Sony and the franchise's backers, MGM and Eon Productions, are doing everything they can in promotion and distribution to get their money back. "Spectre" will open in over 3,900 locations in the US and over 60 foreign markets beginning Friday.

Many are predicting the film to make $60-80 million in the US this weekend. The opening weekend tally for "Skyfall" was $88.4 million. It's unlikely that "Spectre" will hit that mark as it will be up against "The Peanuts Movie," which is projected to earn around $40 million ("Skyfall" was up against relatively light competition).

With heat from Snoopy and company, along with the fact that critics are not as excited about "Spectre" as they were about "Skyfall" (it's currently ranked at 66% on Rotten Tomatoes), Mr. Bond has a challenging road ahead. But it's not just box office receipts any franchise lives on. Income from TV deals and home entertainment sales will also help Bond's backers hit their goal - and help Bond live on.