Having already broken box office record across the world,No Time to Diehas kicked off its U.S. debut by continuing the trend. The latest Bond movie, and Daniel Craig’s last, opened on Thursday for previews and took a massive $6.3 million, making it the biggest domestic opening night for a James Bond title in the near 60 year history of the franchise.No Time to Die’s numbers came in 19% higher thanSpectrefrom 2015, which pulled in $5.25 million on its opening night, whileSkyfalltook $4.6 million. All in all, it’s the farewell to the series that anyone and everyone involved will be happy with, especially Craig who departs with a certain Bond blockbuster as his parting shot.
No Time to Dieopened a week early in many international markets, including the UK whereJames Bondrecords were broken left, right and centre, and in all the film has so far taken over $121 million in the last week. Some have put a figure of $60 million expected from the U.S. and Canada opening this weekend, but based on Thursday night’s haul, it seems that those could be very conservative estimates and it could even be looking to stretch up $10-$20 million on top of that. In addition, the continuing surge of interest internationally is expected to bring in another $150 million, meaning that by the time the weekend is out,No Time to Diecould be looking at a global $300 million, making it one of the biggest movies of the last two years.
According to reports, Bond is already outpacingVenom: Let There Be Carnage’s advanced ticket sales although the comic book sequel did take almost double on its preview night. Bearing in mind that until last month there was still much uncertainty about the viability oftheatrical exclusivereleases, all of that seems to have been well and truly put to rest for future movies. To put the numbers in perspective with previous Craig’s previous, pre-pandemic Bond movies,Skyfallcurrently holds the title with $88.3 million on its opening, just ahead ofSpectrewhich took $70.4 million. Behind those,Quantum of Solacebrought in $67.5 million, and Craig’s debut as James Bond inCasino Royaletook $40.8 million.
No Time to Diehas been delayed a number of times due to the pandemic, and in that time the hype has been building continuously as release dates were set and then shifted through 2020, and even this year, when the movie was moved from a spring release to now. While it has been frustrating for fans of the franchise, like so many other movies that have been constantly pushed back over the last year,No Time to Dieis now reaping the rewards of being on the brink of release for so long.
The official synopsis of Craig’s last Bond outing reads : “James Bond (Daniel Craig) is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica after leaving active service. However, his peace is short-lived as his old CIA friend, Felix Leiter, shows up and asks for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond on the trail of a mysterious villain who’s armed with a dangerous new technology.”
Whatever thebox officeresult from this weekend,No Time to Dieis guaranteed to replaceVenom: Let There Be Carnageat the top of the box office chart, and goes a long way to prove producer Barbara Broccoli’s belief that Bond is and should remain a cinematic experience in future. It looks like no one wants to make an argument for it to become anything else. CatchNo Time to Dieexclusively in theaters now. This news arrives fromDeadline.
