In the much-shaken world of exhibition, James Bond’s return stirs new optimism that adults are coming back to cinemas.
Despite media speculation that 45+ males, 007’s core audience, weren’t “comfortable” going to theatres, MGM/Universal/Eon’s 25th Bond episode NO TIME TO DIE opened to a lively $56M. That’s in line with the $50-60M Hollywood handicappers expected. It also added $89.5M abroad — for a global cume of $313.3M. Historically, Bond films do best abroad.
It helps DIE (pictured) didn’t have to live with day & date streaming that would have kept adult fans sitting on their couches. What doesn’t help is that it runs 2:43, ensuring theatres lose a showing daily. While it’s possible to make up for that by adding performances, that’s not an easy solution with an audience of older adults. You can get -25M to turn out for late-night showings of Marvel movies, but it’s very unlikely +45M would do it to see DIE opening weekend. They’ll just take a little longer to catch up with it.
But it’s a solid kick-off that clearly puts Bond on track for global success, validating the strategic planning that delayed DIE’s release for 19 months.