Craig’s final Bond takes $56 million domestically
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.
“It’s been a long time coming to get this movie on the big screen,” Erik Lomis, the head of distribution for United Artists Releasing, said. “It’s right where we thought it would be and right where tracking predicted it would be.”
Cary Joji Fukunaga directed this installment, which co-stars Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Ana de Armas, Lashana Lynch and Rami Malek, as the antagonist. Both critics and audiences have responded positively (84% on Rotten Tomatoes and an ACinemaScore). According to exit data, audiences were heavily male (64%) and over 35 (57%).
“I’m just really, really relieved that it’s in the cinemas and people are getting a chance to see it,” Craig said Sunday from the Charlotte Motor Speedway. “I am incredibly proud of it, as I am of all the movies, but I was just desperate for people to go and see this in a big group, like coming here today. It’s what we do. We’re a social species, we need to get together.”
Craig was the honorary starter at the NASCAR playoff race where he waved the green flag.
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.
“Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are huge believers in the theatrical experience,” Lomis said of the film’s producers. “They delivered us a terrific movie and together we held it for theatrical. That was hugely important to us, to them and to the theater owners. And when you see this kind of result, it’s very gratifying.”
In second place was last week’s No. 1 film “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” which fell 64% 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.