Bond hit by virus

007 FACING BOX OFFICE DISASTER

JAMES Bond film-makers fear the coronavirus could ruin its box office takings.

The upcoming 007 epic No Time To Die is on course to be the highest grossing Bond movie ever.

But star Daniel Craig has now been forced to pull out of a money-spinning promotional tour of China over virus fears.

And with the closure of 70,000 cinemas across the nation, there are growing worries that the planned windfall will not materialise.

Actor Craig, 51, was set to be the big attraction at the No Time To Die Beijing premiere in April.

Fleabag writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Miss Moneypenny actress Naomie Harris were also set to tour the country.

Smash

But doctors say they will not get clearance to travel to China.

The 25th Bond film, starring Rami Malek as villain Safin, is set for an April 3 British cinema release.

It was expected to be the first to smash £1billion at the box office as Craig’s last outing as the spy.

Spectre from 2015 holds the record after making more than £60million in China.

But year-on-year Chinese box office takings plunged from £1.1bn to £300m over the last three weeks.

Jeff Bock, of entertainment research firm Exhibitor Relations, said: “When you talk about a film making $1bn worldwide, you don’t usually do it without a big chunk of that total coming from China.”

THE Ariel Holiday Inn near Heathrow Airport has reportedly been turned into a coronavirus quarantine centre for British evacuees.

It could be used for 74 Brits stuck on the liner Diamond Princess in Japan.