The latest figures have revealed that Daniel Craig’s final movie as Ian Fleming’s James Bond, No Time To Die (NTTD), had the biggest UK opening weekend for a 007 film, bringing in over £21 million.
The new movie, which went on general release in Britain on Thursday 30th September, performed exceptionally well in its first few days on our big screens, and it is no exaggeration to say that it has smashed UK box office records, much to the delight of cinema managers and industry insiders. It has proved a huge tonic to cinema chains.
The new Bond adventure grossed more on its opening weekend than any other film in the EON franchise, and has already become the biggest film of the year in Britain after only a few days in cinemas across the country.
This fantastic result means that NTTD beat both Skyfall and Spectre, which both took approx £20 million at the UK box office in their first three days. Moreover, in terms of ticket sales, the statistics also suggest that a cool 1.6 million tickets were sold over the first four days of the new movie’s release.
All eyes are now on the international markets, especially the American and Chinese markets. The film is due to open in the USA on Friday 8th October, and will hit Chinese screens in late October. In the international markets where the movie has already been released, it made approx £88 million in the 54 markets where the film was launched, and it is hoped that the U.S. and Chinese markets will help boost these figures considerably.
Studio bosses are already saying that all the indications are that NTTD will be the third most successful Bond movie at the international level. For context on the Craig Bond movies, Skyfall raked in £820 million at the world box office, while Spectre made £646 million, Casino Royale made £594 million, and Quantum of Solace made £434 million.
You know the name, and now you know the numbers. Welcome back, James. We have been more than expecting you, and what a great return you have made.
Yes of course Bond will return, but still killing him was one of the worst moves that has ever been scripted. What made Bond different from all other action heroes was the fact that he ALWAYS succeeded with his missions and lived to tell the another tale. His demise in this movie, I am sure, was the brain child of Daniel Craig:‘Why not be selfish and end Bond with my last movie as Bond and to hell with what the fans think or want?’
(Editor’s note: We doubt Daniel Craig regards the fans in that way).
As a long time fan as I have seen every single James Bond movie, some multiple times, and while I really did enjoy ‘No Time To Die’, I have 2 issues with this movie. 1. The first is, I must say the killing of Blofeld is a wasted opportunity. 2. I must also say it was a very foolish and misguided mistake to kill off James Bond. As a result of this, my Bond 007 life has ended. I am or was a die hard Bond fan and I don’t support the change that is happening. So, as Hugo Drax would say, “as from today” Good Bye!
[Editorial note: While Craig’s Bond has been (seemingly) ‘killed off’, James Bond has not been killed off, Tim, and will return, rest assured].