New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Craig’s final Bond film takes $56 million at domestic box office
After over 18 months of pandemic delays, “No Time to Die” opened on target. The final James Bond film of the Daniel Craig era grossed $56 million from 4,407 North American theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday, to easily take the first-place spot.
It didn’t break any pandemic or 007 records, but it didn’t fall significantly short either and is in fact the fourth-best opening in the 25-film series. James Bond isn’t Marvel when it comes to opening weekends. Bond has always had an older audience that is typically less inclined to rush out for the first weekend. In fact, the best Bond opening ever didn’t even crack $100 million. It was $88.4 million for “Skyfall,” which debuted in 2012.
Cary Joji Fukunaga directed this installment, which co-stars Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Ana de Armas, Lashana Lynch and Rami Malek, as the antagonist. Both critics and audiences have responded positively (84 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- CinemaScore). According to exit data, audiences were heavily male (64 percent) and over 35 (57 percent).
Unlike many films released during the pandemic, a streaming or hybrid release was never even a consideration for “No Time to Die.” In addition to being the longest Bond film ever at two hours and 43 minutes, it was also an expensive one, with a reported production budget of around $250 million. And that doesn’t include marketing costs, which reportedly exceeded $100 million.
But the profitability of Bond movies ultimately comes down to international, which in the Craig era has regularly accounted for over 70 percent of the global total. “No Time to Die” launched abroad last weekend, with Universal handling some territories and MGM others, and as of Sunday global grosses were estimated to be over $313.3 million.In second place was last week’s No. 1 film “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” which fell 64 percent from its record $90 million launch, earning $32 million in its second weekend. The Sony sequel, which is also playing exclusively in movie theaters, has earned $185.6 million globally to date.
Aside from Bond, it was a relatively quiet week at the box office. Other newcomers included A24’s haunting Icelandic film “Lamb,” which earned $1 million from only 583 theaters and Bleecker Street’s “Mass,” which opened on four screens to $14,457.
Meanwhile, Disney is expecting on Monday to cross the $2 billion in global box office earnings in 2021. And the momentum should keep going through October, with “Halloween Kills” and “Dune,” which has already made $117 million internationally, on the horizon.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “No Time to Die,” $56 million.
2. “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” $32 million.
3. “The Addams Family 2,” $10 million.
4. “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” $4.2 million.
5. “The Many Saints of Newark,” $1.5 million.
6. “Free Guy,” $1.3 million.
7. “Lamb,” $1 million.
8. “Dear Evan Hansen,” $1 million.
9. “Candyman,” $700,000.
10. “Jungle Cruise” $214,000.