This past weekend saw the box office arrival of James Bond's latest adventure, No Time to Die, and it seems like the world was quite hungry for 007, as Daniel Craig's final mission cleared past the $100 million mark.
No Time to Die was first screened at Royal Albert Hall last Tuesday before fully releasing in James Bond’s native the United Kingdom and other selected locations two days later. Since then the film has gone on to receive mostly positive reviews that will surely boost its appeal. Prior to the film’s release, anticipation in English cinemas even prompted theater chains to hire extra employees ahead of the foreseen uptick in moviegoers.
According to Universal Pictures, No Time to Die's performance puts it on par with Skyfall (highest-grossing Bond movie) but just below Spectre's quick start in 2015, making the $119 million haul even more enviable in a post-pandemic environment. The milestone also makes No Time to Die the most successful international release in the last 18 months, not counting movies screened in China, all of which will make Bond’s barge into the North American market more interesting this October 8.
Some reports have indicated that No Time to Die needs to make around $800-900m for the film to be profitable, due to the numerous delays it had to deal with since last year. This means James Bond would have to beat Dominic Toretto and the rest of the F9 crew’s $716.6 million. Such a feat would require No Time to Die to come close to Skyfall and Spectre, the only two 007 movies to have collected over $700m.
Dune is another well-reviewed film that has passed the $100 million mark. Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation has been screening in even more selective locations for the past 3 weeks, although any final earnings will certainly be hampered by the movie’s HBO Max deal. Judging from No Time to Die's early impressions, Cary Joji Fukunaga’s vision for Bond and the franchise’s particular brand of action does benefit greatly from being watched on the largest screen possible given the film was partly shot in IMAX.
This is not the only franchise first for No Time to Die, as the movie also takes a slightly different approach in the way it portrays its Bond girls in what’s being called a fitting end to Craig’s tenure as James Bond. 007 will be going up against Venom: Let There Be Carnage, another box office hit despite many less-than-stellar reviews.
No Time to Die is set to release on October 8, 2021.
Source: The Guardian