Craig’s final Bond takes $56 million at domestic box office

After implicit 18 months of pandemic delays, “No Time to Die” opened connected target. The final James Bond movie of the Daniel Craig era grossed $56 cardinal from 4,407 North American theaters, according to workplace estimates connected Sunday, to easy instrumentality the first-place spot.

It didn’t interruption immoderate pandemic oregon 007 records, but it didn’t autumn importantly abbreviated either and is successful information the fourth-best opening successful the 25-film series. James Bond isn't Marvel erstwhile it comes to opening weekends. Bond has ever had an older assemblage which is typically little inclined to unreserved retired for the archetypal weekend. In fact, the champion Bond opening ever didn’t adjacent ace $100 million. It was $88.4 cardinal for “Skyfall” which debuted to successful 2012.

“It’s been a agelong clip coming to get this movie connected the large screen,” said Erik Lomis, the caput of organisation for United Artists Releasing. “It’s close wherever we thought it would beryllium and close wherever tracking predicted it would be.”

Ad

Cary Joji Fukunaga directed this installment, which co-stars Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Ana de Armas, Lashana Lynch and Rami Malek, arsenic the antagonist. Both critics and audiences person responded positively (84% connected Rotten Tomatoes and an A- CinemaScore). According to exit data, audiences were heavy antheral (64%) and implicit 35 (57%).

Unlike galore films released during the pandemic, a streaming oregon hybrid merchandise was ne'er adjacent a information for “No Time to Die.” In summation to being the longest Bond movie ever astatine 2 hours and 43 minutes, it was besides an costly 1 with a reported accumulation fund of astir $250 million. And that doesn’t see selling costs, which reportedly exceeded $100 million.

“Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are immense believers successful the theatrical experience,” Lomis said of the film's producers. “They delivered america a terrific movie and unneurotic we held it for theatrical. That was hugely important to us, to them and to the theatre owners. And erstwhile you spot this benignant of result, it’s precise gratifying.”

Ad

According to North American distributor United Artists Releasing, 25% of moviegoers returned to theaters for the archetypal clip successful 18 months this weekend, suggesting that the movie volition person legs.

“That, I thought, was a beauteous important statistic,” Lomis added.

He said he’s been getting calls from theatre owners astir the state saying that audiences person been regularly applauding astatine the extremity of the movie.

But the profitability of Bond movies yet comes down to international, which successful the Craig epoch has regularly accounted for implicit 70% of the planetary total. “No Time to Die” launched overseas past weekend, with Universal handling immoderate territories and MGM others, and arsenic of Sunday planetary grosses were estimated to beryllium implicit $313.3 million.

“This movie became bigger than beingness due to the fact that it was truly the archetypal precocious illustration movie to determination disconnected of its merchandise day erstwhile the pandemic began,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore's elder media analyst. “To person Bond inactive beryllium appealing and viable and applicable immoderate 60 years connected is rather amazing.”

Ad

In 2nd spot was past week’s No. 1 movie “ Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” which fell 64% from its grounds $90 cardinal launch, earning $32 cardinal successful its 2nd weekend. The Sony sequel, which is besides playing exclusively successful movie theaters, has earned $185.6 cardinal globally to date.

Aside from Bond, it was a comparatively quiescent week astatine the container office. Other newcomers included A24’s haunting Icelandic movie “Lamb,” which earned $1 cardinal from lone 583 theaters and Bleecker Street’s “Mass,” which opened connected 4 screens to $14,457.

Meanwhile, Disney is expecting connected Monday to transverse the $2 cardinal successful planetary container bureau net successful 2021. And the momentum should support going done October, with “Halloween Kills” and “Dune,” which has already made $117 cardinal internationally, connected the horizon.

Ad

“A twelvemonth agone we were successful dire straits,” Dergarabedian said. “The twelvemonth to day is present 32% up from past year. We’re gaining crushed present and we person a batch of large movies connected the way. The manufacture is chugging on and ‘Halloween Kills’ could beryllium overmuch bigger than anyone expects.”

Estimated summons income for Friday done Sunday astatine U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final home figures volition beryllium 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.

___

Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr connected Twitter at: http://twitter.com/ldbahr

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.