‘No Time to Die’ is a FLOP

I checked the article to see if Variety really said it's "only taken in $313 million," and that phrasing is nowhere to be found. Good thing, because it's dumb. The movie's been out a week. This was its first weekend out in the US and second in most overseas markets. Nobody with any sense would expect it to make that "needed" $800 million in less than 14 days.

------------------------------------------

“No Time to Die” needs to gross at least $800 million at the global box office to make money in its theatrical window. (Read that again: TO MAKE MONEY IN ITS THEATRICAL WINDOW.) For Bond, the franchise has numerous marketing partners and ancillary tie-ins, with Rolex, Aston Martin and more, that could help cushion potential losses.

Ticket sales at the international box office will be a huge factor in terms of profitability for “No Time to Die.” So far, audiences have been turning out overseas, where it has already made an impressive $145 million. (IMPRESSIVE.) Globally, the film has collected $313 million.

This is the first film to do close to pre pandemic numbers. It is in no way a flop.

OP is FLOPULOUS

R2, Venom made much. much more in its first weekend

What Venom also has going for it is that it's only 90 minutes so there are more available screenings for it. NO TIME TO DIE is close to 3 hours.

It’s too early to know if it’s a global flop. I saw it and the plot is very confusing. It has five villains and it barely explains how they are connected.

I couldn't think of anything worse than to be sat in a cinema for hours in the middle of a pandemic.

No thank you.

I don’t trust a dark room of strangers anymore. I don't want to die by gun fire. I’ve had sufficient.

Yeah I have no desire to sit in a cinema with anti-vaxxers and go back to pre-pandemic days of people on phones and bringing their chatty spawn. Streaming and home theatre systems are the new movie viewing norm, even more than before.

r4, much, much more domestically. Bond is still doing better overall.

Bond's global total is now $313 million. Venom's is $185.6.

Sadly, once Bond ages badly it's time to recast.

Geez OP you're a bit harsh. It's only been out a week. Give it time.

It's hasn't even been out that long. OP is the type of person to bury a body while it's still warm.

[quote] What Venom also has going for it is that it's only 90 minutes so there are more available screenings for it. NO TIME TO DIE is close to 3 hours.

The people to whom the Venom movie appeals will mostly see it in its first two weeks. I would guess the James Bond movie will have a longer run, even if it didn't have the same opening weekend.

You've got to have a lot of appetite for meaningless gross-out killing to enjoy Venom, since that's much of the point--just watching the symbiotes slice and dice people up or rip them to pieces, and eat them. That turns a hell of a lot of people off, even though there is a (sizable) demographic that just loves that kind stuff.

Cary Fukunaga is only an indie director, can’t bring in any $.

That dreadful Billy Eilish theme song doesn't help. That girl cannot sing.

You people don't know anything. Cary F. made an astounding looking movie. It may not be to everyone's taste or expectations, but it's a great movie. And at only 3 shows a day with only 70% of the movies houses open, it's doing blockbuster business. So STFU and go back to your Housewives shows.

People are tired of Craig. His face looks like 10 miles of unpaved Texas highway. We need fresh meat.

I gussied up thinkin' m' boo would take me to the Bond debut, but I was left all dressed up with no place to go. I'm supposin' it's because of the fear o' Covid. Nevertheless, the cheese stands alone, tappin' on my computer keyboard next to a bowlful of bitter herbs.

Who goes to the theatres anymore?

R18 You rang.

^ The name is Bond. Jew Bond.

R17 is really taking this personally.

From what I read elsewhere, its opening gross is lower than expected so it basically under-performed. On the positvie side, it's more adult-targeted and they usually don't go to the movies on opening weekend. But the fear of covid could make those adults stay away. The real test is whether it will legged out or just fade away.

This time, it is personal.

[QUOTE] The real test is whether it will legged out or just fade away.

It will fade away. American moviegoers are tired of Daniel Craig. They should’ve replaced him two movies ago.

[quote] "NO TIME TO DIE is close to 3 hours."

Fuck that. I wasn't interested anyway, but wow. Definitely fuck that.

The reason why the previous ones did so well was because they killed it at the American box office. This movie can’t reach a billion without our money. THAT’S why I’m saying it’s going to flop. Sure the fat lady isn’t singing yet, but she’s putting her costume on.

ELLA! Bring me... the AXE!

when is it coming to cable?

OP/r28, you didn't say it's going to flop. You said it IS a flop.

And other than Skyfall, none of the others have really killed it at the domestic box office. The franchise has always made vastly more money overseas.

Casino Royale: US Opening: 40.8M Domestic Total: 167.4 International Total: 449 Cumulative: 616.5M

Quantum of Solace Domestic Opening: 67M Domestic Total: 168.3 International Total: 421.2 Cumulative: 589.5

Skyfall Domestic Opening: 88.7 Domestic Total: 304.4 International Total: 804.2 Cumulative: 1.1 Billion

Spectre: Domestic Opening: 70.4 Domestic Total: 200 International Total: 680.6 Cumulative: 880.6

And the US domestic totals won’t come anywhere near those numbers this time, R31. That’s the point.

Someone is overly invested in this movie doing well. Points on the back end?

Someone is overly invested in the movie doing poorly. Daniel Craig hater? That True Detective writer still bitter Fukunaga got most of the praise for the first season being good?

I still think it's a little disgusting that a movie pretty much has to recoup in the first weekend or else it's screwed. When did that become the norm?

It’s not that it has to recoup in the first weekend, R35, but it has to hit certain marks. Whether it hits those numbers can foretell its final gross.

I doubt it will flop.

No Time to Die marked my first time going to the theater since the pandemic. The theater wasn't packed, but there was a decent-sized crowd.

Coincidentally, the last film I saw in the theater in February 2020 was Knives Out (also starring Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas).

3 hour run time screwed it.

^ Bondopatra

r35, since people like the OP who don't know anything about the box office, or are holding things up to pre-pandemic standards, made their limits known.

(For the record, Venom 2 debuted to $10 million higher than the first one...and has steadily dropped like a rock. Its weekdays were terrible, and it declined 65% from first to second weekend (compared to 56% for the first.) After 10 days it's now a million behind the first one. The opening weekend isn't the whole story.)

OP knows plenty about the box office, R40.

Bond films traditionally have very long theatrical legs. Given its good reviews, and positive word of mouth, it won’t be the least surprising if the movie eventually does a billion in business. The naysayers are just junior hack journos slaving away at their Wordpress terminals, and under the gun to produce contrarian copy for clickbait. Venom was just cheap CGI crap for kiddies. No comparison.

I heard what the plot is, and I couldn't be happier if that's the case. Rubbish.

Younger people are the ones in theaters now, especially since Covid. Bond is not a young person's franchise.

A friend and I saw the new Bond movie yesterday on cheap movie night (Tuesdays). It was okay but no great classic. Got better as it went along. SPOILER ALERT: Daniel Craig did not want to make this movie and he said that this was definitely his last James Bond movie so they killed him off in a heroic way at the end.......

when is this coming to cable?

Remember when Bond films were fun? It's all been downhill after Roger Moore.

It doesn't even get released in Australia for another month. I don't know how many other countries this is true for.

r48, OP doesn't care about Australia, or anything outside the US. Amurrica is all that matters according to OP.

[quote]I saw it and the plot is very confusing. It has five villains and it barely explains how they are connected.

Sounds like the first year of the "Facts of Life"

They sucked all the joy out of the franchise and turned it into a comic-book clone. A better version would have killed Craig off as an imposter in the first 5 minutes and then everyone celebrates.

It's a very good Bond movie with several sequences that deserve to be seen on the big screen. Slumps a bit midway through, then rallies for a terrific climax.

[quote] several sequences that deserve to be seen on the big screen. Slumps a bit midway through, then rallies for a terrific climax.

You’ve just described my sex life.

.,.,

[quote]Remember when Bond films were fun?

This one will surprise you. ALL the Daniel Craig Bond movies have left me cold, and I HATED the maudlin Skyfall that people seem to get soggy knickers over. But this one I enjoyed: just as Craig seems to have lighted up in his interviews for the film, the film itself also has a injection of the levity. Yay!

It's absurd for any movie to have a production budget of $250 million. Lots of financial chicanery involved, no doubt.

[quote]Yeah I have no desire to sit in a cinema with anti-vaxxers and go back to pre-pandemic days of people on phones and bringing their chatty spawn. Streaming and home theatre systems are the new movie viewing norm, even more than before.

My brother, a life long Bond fan, who went to triple features as kid and owns all the DVD's will PPV it.

I liked Daniel Craig as Bond, but in hindsight, his films are among the worst of the franchise. While Casino Royale probably ranks as my absolute favorite, Quantum of Solace and Spectre are among the worst. No Time to Die is middle of the pack, while Skyfall is in the top 5.

It's amazing how the first Bond films set such a high water mark that has been difficult to replicate. Connery was perfect, the theme songs were great, and the tone was playful throughout.

People like to dump on Daniel Craig but there's a reason he was offered so much $ to stay as Bond. He revived the franchise. The Brosnan years were a void, nevermind Dalton. I grew up with the Roger Moore films but they were pretty much (enjoyable) camp. Craig was the best Bond since Connery, and he won't be easily replaced.

I ain’t going to the cinema for Fleabag Bond.

Daniel Craig is certainly the best actor of the lot. I actually think he deserves an Oscar nomination for No Time to Die.

R60: Phoebe Waller Bridge's hand in No Time to Die is barely detectable. I'm 100% convinced she was mainly brought in for the dialogue involving Bond and the female characters (especially 007 and Ana de Armas' character).

Someone made an astute comment that the way it was scripted, and the way Craig played it, was exactly how it would have played out in real life for Craig's particular personification of Bond: someone who'd been a military commander and super serious, but in retirement (as he is in the film at the start), had loosened up. Craig comes across in the film as older but good humoured and much more relaxed about life (which can happen as you get older), and probably also about his acting, and that works enormously to the benefit of the film, and audience enjoyment.

[quote]It's amazing how the first Bond films set such a high water mark that has been difficult to replicate.

The 60s was the era before everyone decided that a movie can only make an impact by being frightfully serious, shot very dark, and as violent as possible. The Italian Job is another 60s film that can't be replicated in these troubled times. (Yes, I know someone tried.)

Regardless of the movie itself, the length of almost three hours is a turn-off for me (although it didn't feel like three hours once I started watching.). The constant delay didn't help either. At some point I felt like 'just get it out already and finish Craig's run'.

What I would have considered: Hold off the premiere, cast the new Bond, film it, and show both movies back-to-back within three or six months, maybe even with a connected story. That could have given Craig's Bond some momentum that it had lost from the constant delays.

The only thing I remember about the Italian Job remake was the Mini Cooper car chase. The characters and plot were completely forgettable.

Go woke, go broke.

Hand in your gay card this minute, R65. Noel Coward, in a parody of himself, was completely forgettable?!?

It's weird after seeing Malek in his own gigantic island lair to see him stroll into a Starbucks...

Rami was a thoroughly unimpressive Bond villain. His whole thing was having bad skin and speaking in dulcet tones. BO-RING.

I thought so, too. Just being mentally damaged does not make an interesting character. He was pretty much the cartoon of a Bond villain. I also doubt Malek's range by now. I thought he was great as Freddie Mercury. But even in that role he played his character with the same 'weirdness' that he keeps playing in all his roles.

The three best Bonds and really the only ones worth seeing for a discerning and mature filmgoer: 1. Goldfinger 2. From Russia With love 3. The Spy Who Loved Me. The 'Spy' had one of the best openings and song (Carly Simon). Octopussy also had a superior opening and song (Rita Coolidge) Goldfinger certainly a timeless opening song as well (Shirley Bassey). I only managed to see one Daniel Craig Bond and it was all flash cuts and FX with Craig acting sullen throughout. Is there a word such as 'Funless'?

Against my better judgement, I agreed to see this in the theater because my BF wanted to. I refuse to sit through anything longer than 2.5 hours, and even that's a stretch. The movie was "fine". It started, it ended and that was that. I didn't really feel like close to 3 hours, which was shocking. The scenes with Ana de Armas were the best. They should have just done the whole movie around the 2 of them.

And PS.. turns out there IS time to die.

On her Majesty's secret service is another unmissable film from the series. It may star the worst Bond (though he really wasn't all bad) but it has the best mix of intrigue, action and emotion and character development.

I think Lazenby was fantastic as Bond. It's unfortunate he fucked it up and that they brought back Connery in that joke of a Bond film, Diamonds are Forever, with possibly the worst Bond girl of all times.

Seeing On Her Majesty's Secret Service will enhance your viewing of No Time To Die.

Yeah, I noticed some references to Lazenby's movie in this movie, including the best song of any Bond movie ever, in my humble opinion. (Hans Zimmer's scores were surprisingly forgettable in this one otherwise.

[QUOTE] I refuse to sit through anything longer than 2.5 hours, and even that's a stretch.

Too bad,

[quote] I also doubt Malek's range by now.

You could say that of Brando. Or Hoffman. Or any number of actors. He can be preternaturally phenomenal (Mr Robot) to terrible (The Little Things). Mostly its merely excellent.

Very few star actors are great or even good in everything. e.g. Streep was truly dreadful in Plenty, and gave a ham performance for the ages in The Iron Lady. Even the performance that put her on the map, The French Lieutenants Woman was a stilted basket of tics and technique. Many of Laurence Oliviers’ performances are so bad they qualify for What The Fuck material.

It's the same movie over and over again with different actors playing the parts. I 'm surprised they haven't done spin offs by now. These broccolini people lack any ounce of creativity.

what are they going to do now, remake the first films?

I am the Earth Mother and you are all FLOPS!

R80, probably a black Bond or a female Bond. No gay, Asian, or Hispanic Bond. And then when the receipts are underwhelming, they’ll just blame audience fracturing.

The film was at its best when Ana de Armas' character showed up and it became a romantic comedy for 10 minutes.

If it underperforms, I’m sure it’s because of Leah Seydoux who is worse than Goop when it comes to the worst examples of nepotism in the entertainment industry. It’s simply unimaginable that someone could go from Eva Green to that.

Lea Seydoux's collapse is complete!

I think what OP is not taken into account is the amount of theatres. Bond has the same this weekend as it's opening weekend. It will be fascinating to see this weekends numbers. If it makes it to 100 million in the US by the end of this weekend it may be in a good chance to hit 200 million in America. In total. I think it can make 550 overseas which means it will be under. But not by much. If it goes bigger overseas- it's on track to do100 million in the uk alone by the weekend- it will be fine. So yes OPs predictions are premature and quite frankly wrong.

It's an interesting franchise because its always done better OUTSIDE of America.

[quote]These broccolini people lack any ounce of creativity.

5/10

James Bond is a dying brand as the only people that care about that shit are senior citizens.

James Bond is an international coproduction with overwhelmingly British cast. It’s bizarre when American box-office is referred to as domestic in relation to Bond. Technically, the only domestic box-office for it is British box-office, everything else is overseas.

And I still maintain it must have been propped majorly by Gaumont/Pathé money, otherwise I don’t see why they cast Seydoux for the second time.

[quote]James Bond is a dying brand as the only people that care about that shit are senior citizens.

Yes, that's why it crossed the $300 million box office mark in its first week – without even opening in China, etc.

[quote] James Bond is a dying brand

I think this has been said since 1967.

Has Helen Mirren ever played a Bond Girl?

r92 is adorable. Guess how much the salaries and promotion were.

I do believe COVID hurt the movie in a way that the built up hype in 2019 couldn't be maintained. All the interviews and spreads in magazines that were scheduled for the initial run 1.5 years ago, hyped up an audience that then couldn't be served. By the time the movie finally came out people were like 'bring it out already'. We had heard so much about Craigs demise already that there wasn't much curiosity left. Personally, I also think that 3 hour runtime is just not very appealing for old people with 2-hour bladders or ADD stricken MillengenZs.

Still: The movie is certainly not a (capital) flop. OP probably just thought that facts are not enough to get DLers attention. Hyperbole still does a great job riling people up.

Here is a nice financial comparison of all Bond movies. With No Time To Die grossing $3.3 million at this point, it would be pretty low indeed, in License to Kill territory. But considering that Bond movies perform differently (they don't peter out to near zero by week three) the current results are not very telling.

There are some surprises (to me) in there: The Brosnan movies were grossing fairly evenly even though critics and audiences don't hold them in high regard. Lazenby's movie did comparatively much better than Dalton's two movies on average. Up to the eighties, the results look almost erratic. It looks like people didn't just eat up whatever was presented just because it was a Bond.

All I want is for Daniel Craig to start making sequels to Knives Out.

The problem is that almost every major movie has been rushed to a streaming service. Dune is set to be released in theaters and for free on HBO Max on the same day. With those incentives, why bother with going to the theater abs catching other peoples germs for $20-30 a pop?

I’ve heard no buzz about this movie from friends. 2 did see Venom but no one had plans to see Bond.

I’m so out of touch with theatrical releases that I have not even heard about this movie until now. I haven’t seen or heard advertisements for this or any other movie, quite honestly. How are movies advertised in the age of no-commercials streaming?

I don’t often go to the movies, but I’m actually starting to feel the draw. I’ll probably wait on this one to stream, but I do plan to see West Side Story (an AMC Classic movies event release) on Dec. 2.

I'm kinda with you, r100. Since the age of streaming I practically never get to see commercials anymore. (And they annoy the hell out of me when I accidentally do come across them.) I become aware of movies through 'online buzz' or (probably paid for) articles and interviews before premieres. In this case it was all the chatter about this being Craig's last movie, Fukunaga interviews etc.

R100, it’s TCM Big Screen Classics and is scheduled for November 28 and December 1.

It’s amusing: the hack news cubs slaving over their Wordpress terminals wishing the movie to fail: oh! look! Venom & Halloween Kills are trouncing it! Except they won’t. Venom has already plummeted in daily takings like the exploitive pap it is. Bond movies have VERY long theatrical legs, particularly outside the US, where they can theatrically for 6 months or more, like movies used to do in the old days.

Now at $447M Globally.

We should all experience such "flops".

SPOILER QUESTION- saw the movie last night and the thing that stuck out for me most was the fact that Vesper Lynn was supposed to be 23 when she died. Did I see that correctly?

R106, that's correct, which is three years younger than the actress who played Vesper.

And it hasn't even opened in China. Expect total grosses in excess of a billion, OP.

At this figure in its second week, it’s obvious it will enter profit despite the massive interest charges in the financing loans because of the delay — possibly even during its theatrical release, but certainly after. It’s significant that only 22% of its grosses come from the US — and that’s even WITHOUT China or Australia where it’s yet to open. Whereas something like Halloween Kills, the skew is almost 50%. Bond movies are also unique in that they bring with them the box office heft of decades of affection for the series from an older demographic.

[bold]‘No Time To Die’ Becomes 2021’s No. 2 Hollywood Movie Worldwide As It Nears $500M Global

Yeah, what a stinker. The flop of all flops.

r110 Heh--that story is exactly what I came to post! FLOOOOOOOOP!

[quote] On her Majesty's secret service is another unmissable film from the series. It may star the worst Bond (though he really wasn't all bad)

I can't address Craig as Bond since I've never watched one his his 007 films, but otherwise Lazenby's performance was the closest they had to Bond as written by Ian Fleming. Didn't matter as Connery's superhero 007 already had been imprinted on the public's mind.

Forget the movie. Take a few hours and read the original novels.

R112 my dad had all the novels, first or second edition and I 5unofficially inherited them. OHMSS is the rare example of the novel being the same a the book both storywise and in quality. Its funny how some of the worse novels are some of the best books and vice versa. My favorite novel for instance is Diamonds are forever but it has fuck all to do with the actual movie. Anyway I think some people nowadays would clutch their pearls at some of the novel, somewhat understanidbly so, but I love them.

[quote]Daniel Craig’s final turn as her majesty’s agent is surpassing Godzilla Vs Kong to get to its new benchmark.

It's depressing to think Godzilla Vs Kong is a modern benchmark. Talk about the plummetting IQ of the masses.

Have you seen it? It's great, much better than for example Skyfall and weirdly less depressing.

Knives Out was one of the worst, most obvious, and preachiest movies I’ve Ever had the displeasure of sitting through.

It was a complete shitfest.

[quote] Knives Out was one of the worst, most obvious, and preachiest movies

Agreed. The last fun movie of that type which was fab from beginning to end was Sleuth. Even The Last Of Sheilah was heaps more fun. All the Agatha Christie adaptions have been snoozefests. Hollywood can’t seem to do fun movies of this genre. The success of the banal Knives Out I put down to the crying absence of similar fare.

"Meanwhile, No Time To Die handily crossed the half a billion worldwide mark this weekend, grossing an estimated $525.4M through Sunday. That makes James Bond 25 only the second Hollywood title to get to the $500M milestone since 2019 (the other being Universal’s own F9). At the international box office, 007 has topped $400M with $405.6M through today in a combined 72 Universal and MGM markets. Likewise, apart from F9, NTTD is just the second studio movie to make the four-century benchmark overseas since 2019. As noted earlier this week, NTTD on Wednesday became the No. 2 Hollywood movie globally and overseas of 2021."

"FLOOOOOOOOOP!" says OP.

It would seem that your thread title hasn't aged well, OP.

This flop is at $526M right now which is on par with GoldenEye. Still without China.

r120, meet r118.

There was a tweet from a screenwriter yesterday who went to see the movie with his daughter. He said his daughter turned to him halfway through the film and said: "This feels like a first draft." To which he agreed. However, he said they both loved it, and thought it very well made. Given even the director was writing bits of it while shooting was under way, it's surprising it turned out as good as it did. But why zillion dollar films take the risk of commencing production without a finished script (hardly the first one) is bewildering. I guess it's because it's very difficult to slot in a booking for production facilities.

Yawn. Wake me up when it crosses $1 billion. Otherwise it’s a flop.

That's it, OP. When you make an ass out of yourself with your completely wrong assertions, just move the goalposts.

No film since the pandemic has crossed a billion, not even close. But do keep making up totally arbitrary measures to further demonstrate you don't know what you're talking about.

I hated the movied but I am glad its doing well if only because it makes theatres semi profitable again. It was depressing as hell to hear all throughout the pandemic about how this would mean the death of theatre going forever.

[quote] Yawn. Wake me up when it crosses $1 billion. Otherwise it’s a flop.

Yeah, I don't think you can save your original posting anymore. You tried to be negative and sensationalistic (like so many others on DL) But you failed. Just own it.

[QUOTE] Yeah, I don't think you can save your original posting anymore. You tried to be negative and sensationalistic (like so many others on DL) But you failed. Just own it.

More pain for OP. Opens in China today.

[quote]I don't want to die by gun fire. I’ve had sufficient.

Sufficient what? Bullet holes?

Why are people so emotionally invested in this movie? A budget of $250MM and released in the waning months of a pandemic? Destined to lose money, no?

DL people, I have a riddle for you. Of all the actors who portrayed James Bond- Which were heterosexual in real life?

NONE

The every man is gay troll has arrived!

R116, I tried watching Knives Out several times and turned it off. Finally, after the third attempt, I made it all the way through it...I just couldn't understand what the big fuss was about! I LOVE movies like Clue and Murder on the Orient Express, but this mess was baffling to me.

It's now done $528 million in business. Hardly a flop and it has more time to go.

Stop it! Just stop it! Every dollar is a stab in OP's heart. And reputation.

$8.12 million for the first day in China.

[quote] Sounds like the first year of the "Facts of Life"

I for one would kill to see "The Facts of Life Go to London to Meet James Bond."

Mrs Garrett could be M, and Cousin Geri could be Miss Moneypenny. The superrich supervillain would of course be Blair. Natalie would be her bizarre fat henchman (like oddjob) in her Charlie Chaplin costume, and her bowler hat would have a razor edge like his when she'd fling it at people.

Tootie would be the girl killed in the first reel to set the plot in motion, and of course Jo would be a supertough lesbian enchantress like Pussy Galone whom Bond would turn heterosexual.

Beverly Ann would be like Rosa Klebb and have poison-dipped spiked shoes she'd use to try to kill Bond.

And Mackenzie Astin could be Nick Nack.

[quote] $8.12 million for the first day in China.

There lies the real tragedy for Bond movies imo. China or Russia being the menace for the world could spur so many cold war-like stories. Can't do that anymore. You cannot write juicy bad-state stories anymore if you need to sell tickets in these very same countries.

From Russia with Love and Spy who loved me both played with the antagonistic relationship with Russia even though these two movies were really about collaboration with Russia. But these days you cannot even do that. I find it hard to imagine that a modern Bond movie spells out that Russia or China are adversarial countries for the West.

R139 Don't you get enough Russia/China hate on social media already these days? There's no need to make propaganda movies when every media is full of that shit.

Well given the movie's hypothosis is DNA targeted nanobots, it's only a small jump to make them racially targeted. I'm sure that scenario has already been considered by the more crazed Chinese generals. I haven't a doubt that finely targeted viruses that can pick out racial groups or clusters (mafia families would be a beautiful one), will be a future 'thing'. And a not-far off thing.

Worldwide gross is now $533 million and counting. It should hit 700-900 million in theaters alone. FLOP!!!

Apple turned the movie down when the Bond producers requested a flat $500 million. Then Apple would have been on the hook for money to promote it.

Will hit $600M tomorrow. FLOOOOOOOOP!

"MGM/Eon/Universal’s No Time To Die easily held on to the No. 1 spot in China on Saturday, adding an estimated $12M for a local two-day cume of RMB 127.3M ($19.9M). The opening weekend projection is now $29M, slightly lower than where we saw it yesterday and impacted by the Covid situation in the market (more on China below).

Overall, Daniel Craig’s final turn as 007 is set to pass $600M globally on Sunday. That would make NTTD only the second Hollywood title to reach the mark since Jumanji: The Next Level in January 2020 (Universal’s F9 being the other).

In further milestones, the Cary Joji Fukunaga-directed No Time To Die is now the sixth highest grossing film of all time in the UK & Ireland, surpassing both Titanic and Star Wars: The Last Jedi in the last week. The film also broke another record this week after consecutively grossing over £1M for 29 days since release. This beats the previous record of 24 days held by Skyfall, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The market is expected to reach $116.8M this session, performing in line with Spectre and Skyfall at the same point of release."

I watched it in the theater last night. Gosh that felt like such a long movie. When it takes 20 min to get to the theme song and then the theme song sucks ass, you really know that you’re in for a very long movie. Was not that enjoyable till that actress from knives Out showed up. Sadly, they let her leave soon after she appeared.

One thing that did flop was Craig’s meat in his bathing suit and one pair of pants. You can tell he intentionally wanted to show wet and dry VPL. Hardy uncut British meat.

R144 A very DL review... The highlights are VPL and uncut meat.

The theme song sucked so, so badly.

JFC, can’t they make good Bond songs anymore?

Didn’t know who was singing until I saw the credit. That girl is horrible.

This uninterrupted box office success must be seriously endangering OP's already fragile health.

Is there anything we can do to help? Even though its sequel has been greenlit, Dune hasn't made fab numbers. Is that any consolation?

r131, Sean Connery was a wife beating shit bag, was he gay in your book?

R146 They don’t make ‘em like Shirley Bassey anymore.

How much does it need to break even?

One speculation has been $800m. Given it was launched three times, the marketing costs, plus the holding interest costs, mean that's a huge amount of money that needs to be recouped on top of normal expenditures. However I think it's a crazy figure, even if the movie did cost $260m or so to make. Maybe $700m?

This guy says the industry is rooting for them to simply break even, which would be a huge achievement given the circumstances, and that no one in the industry actually gives a rats ass about the success of schlock like Venom 2 etc. As per all Bond films, its holding up very well: went back to No1 in the UK last weekend, and of course, the franchise is unusual in that only 23% of its earnings come from the US.

What's interesting is how the movie is financed. It's made by EON, and then for some reason the completed movie is then sold to Broccolis's family investment company which is based (like a lot of the companies of the international super rich) in Delaware for tax reasons. They personally made over 100m from Skyfall alone.

So, R151, OP was right all along and it's actually a huge FLOP?

[QUOTE] So, OP was right all along and it's actually a huge FLOP?

$700M sounds realistic. The movie made $52M this weekend, including China. Some countries go back into Covid sleep again, like Russia. China sees more restrictions, too. But even if earnings slim down fast from here, $700M should still be attainable, given that it is now at $605M.

That slots the movie at #12 in the Bond ranking, between From Russia with Love (13, $576M adj. gross earnings) and Quantum of Solace (11, $622M). $700M would squeeze the movie between The Spy who loved me (7, $692M) and You only live twice (6, $756M).

I suspect that had there not been Covid, No Time To Die would've grossed over $1 billion, easy.

I love how r150 felt the need to ask how much the movie needs to break even, when that's explicitly stated in the OP, and r1, and several other times in this thread.

And no, r152, the OP still wasn't right. No one with any sense would consider a film that makes $700M (and that's still a low-ball estimate) in a pandemic a FLOP, let alone "a huge FLOP."

[QUOTE] No one with any sense would consider a film that makes $700M in a pandemic a FLOP.

It is when it was a very expensive film to make.

Bond movies live forever and make money forever. Goldfinger was made in 1964 and is streaming right now on various platforms for $3 to $6. They’re not the types of movies that live in the moment and then disappear.

It’s one of the reasons that getting the gig as James Bond is such a big deal. It’s iconic, and forever.

R158, That was true years ago, but the superhero movies have taken over and made Bond films irrelevant to some extent, as they have most other types of action films. The Baby Boomers, who are the last big fans of Bond, are dying off, so the Bond franchise has definitely peaked. Whoever is cast as the next James Bond will be the last.

R159 No movie that makes 700 million is irrelevant.

R259 Skyfall transcended only being watched by fans of the series. It made over a billion. The Pierce Brosnan movies didn't make that much.

It's kinda funny how projections for movies are calculated. A movie suffers from Covid, being released on a weekend with too much competition or because somebody is upset about something. Or it's projected to do well because Covid is over and people want to go out again, or because it's Craig's last Bond movie etc. I never hear anyone factor in whether the movie is well done or not.

[quote]Whoever is cast as the next James Bond will be the last.

Bond will go on forever. Even if the next casting doesn't pan out, long after the Broccolis have gone to God, he will be reinvented and reinvented. He's as iconic as Superman. Someone has theorised that the reincarnations vary between serious and lighthearted, and the next one will be in the latter vein.

R163 Bond will be reinvented as a strong black woman! LOL

R161, not a fair comparison. Billion dollar movies didn't really become a thing until well into the 2000s as China became a huge market for films. Titanic and Jurassic Park were outliers for years. Brosnan's Bond movies were the highest grossing Bond movies at the time.

R156 “Cleopatra” was famous flop! And if I’m not mistaken, it was the highest grossing movie of the year. But the studio lost millions making it.

Even at $700 million, the studio is not going to major any movie. I think they were aiming for a billion when they decided to have that budget

Cleopatra ended up turning a profit because it was sold to television for a record amount for the broadcast rights.

Box office has not had the final say in a film's financial bottom line for decades.

[QUOTE] Even at $700 million, the studio is not going to major any movie. I think they were aiming for a billion when they decided to have that budget

They clearly had a billion in mind.

Pre-Covid they were aiming for a billion and the cost was lower. The film's budget suffered from delays before Covid hit, but then Covid compounded the budget problem AND ensured the box office would be lower no matter what they did. The studio simply reached a point where they couldn't afford to hold off the release any longer in the hopes of outlasting Covid.

Given the circumstances, breaking even at the box office would be a success. They'll make a profit later with streaming and broadcasting.

BUMP

[quote] They clearly had a billion in mind.

Clearly? And what does having 'in mind' mean, OP? That they were dreaming about it, or that they realistically estimated a billion? Your loosey-goosey use of language is really pissing me off. First you say $800 millions were needed. Otherwise it would be huge flop. When this appeared attainable you picked a billion out of thin air. So why a billion, OP? Where is the billion coming from? How do you measure success exactly? Ticket sales, gross earning, 2021 worldwide ranking of the movie or rather just US ranking?

I think it's a fair assumption that pre-Covid they were expecting a billion dollar box office again. The problem with OP is he's being a complete dunce about how expectations have changed due to Covid. And as you pointed out when the original post aged poorly, he just moved the goalposts like a dunce again.

I'm probably in the minority but I liked Lea Seydoux in "No Time To Die". Her reserve worked for me. I thought Rami Malek's villain was underwritten but I found his performance effective enough. I liked that someone capable of such atrocity was portrayed as such a human void. Made him all the more frightening..

NTTD is about to break even and the rest, rental and broadcast rights and so on, will be gravy for the next 50 years or more. There will be hundreds of millions more to be made in the future. This is why the Bond series keeps on going.

Whoever came up with Malek's wonderfully chilling psychopathic line -- 'saving someone's life is like taking it, it connects you to them forever', deserved a free drink. That whole scene in the consulation room was terrific.

Sean Connery was hetero and the best Bond ever.

Hollywood Reporter: "Barring a fluke, it’s now almost certain to pass F9 ($721 million) as the biggest non-Chinese global grosser of 2020 and 2021 with an over/under $735 million finish."

Oh dear. Is there anything we can get you OP? A cold compress?

R174 Rental and broadcast rights? What year are you in?

^^ It's a 19.99 rental on Amazon right now, sugar.

Seydoux is effortlessly heavyweight.

Daniel Craig overacts a bit in this.

I liked that they worked in "We Have All the Time in the World" from [italic]On Her Majesty's Secret Service.[/italic]

This is a bit ponderous.

They also worked in the OHMSS Theme which has no lyrics so it is often ignored.

We're watching it tonight on Apple. We're not going back into theatres....yet.

This is a little over cooked (in homage to Greg). A lot of it is like watching a commercial reel, mostly car commercials.

It's a great movie. That Italy location. Wow!

However, the main problem is the villain. His plan wasn't clear. So, he gets rid of S.P.E.C.T.R.E out of revenge for killing his family (or is it just eliminating the competition)? And then got himself an additional database of further victims (the files which were originally locked and Q managed to unlock them) who were ... what? Bad people, good people? Safin acted all high almighty fighting for a cause, but what was it? Also, the movie alludes that Safin is a new Doctor No (wearing a Noh mask at the beginning, being called doctor by one of the henchmen, wearing gloves).

Also, the nanobots can't be destroyed by an EMP? What is their power source? But I get that, apparently, the nanobots mess with the host's DNA, so he becomes a deadly poison carrier which is only deadly to the intended victim, or victims, and is transmitted through touch.

The big entrance of Blofeld was eye roll inducing.

But the rest was all great. Especially Ana de Armas. From ditzy comic relief to kick-ass heroine in a few brief minutes (reminded me of the Wonder Woman introduction in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice).

The Bond song worked surprisingly well with the opening credits. I like it more than the other one by Sam Smith.

There were a few nice easter eggs for die-hard fans (all the already mentioned OHMSS, the bulldog figurine in the garage - a present from Judy Dench's M, etc.).

There's some pretty cool trivia bit at IMDB trivia.

[quote] The Latin inscription on Vesper Lynd's tomb is a traditional warning from the grave. It reads: "As you are now, so once was I. As I am now, so shall you be." It also provides a clue to later developments in the film.

Lot of virtue signaling in this movie.

Rami Malek is funny. I shouldn’t be surprised that he excels in this. Too bad the writers let him down.

[quote]Also, the nanobots can't be destroyed by an EMP? What is their power source?

They're already here. And the video at the link is a year old. Since that video they've been able to create ones that hold memory. And it gets scarier. Did you know they've created a Covid 41 times more infectious. For vaccine testing purposes only. What fucking psychopathic Mini-Safin OK's that? Just pray it doesn't escape like everything else.

Not enough action in it.

Overrated

So is that how you avoid death? Just stay very busy?

[quote]Not enough action in it.

= I have the attention span of a five year old, and no one jumps 50 stories and squishes people every 10 minutes like my Marvel movies.

I don’t see why they couldn’t have worked in a ski chase or two.

I think because of COVID they kept the personal contact and hand-to-hand combat to a bare minimum (they even worked it into the storyline that personal contact can be deadly!) that's why the actions sequences mainly involve people fighting from a distance (car chases, shootings, etc.).

I’m surprised Ana de Arnas wasn’t in it more. She was great. I thought she’d return for another action piece.

No. If she returned, it would have pulled focus from the central family.

Hmmmmmmmm

It was shot before Covid, luv.

The only thing they WERE worried about due to the late start (April 2019) was losing the house (which was actually built ON the ice lake, not the ground adjoining it), and the cameras, Rami and the little girl. As it was they shipped back the entire house and sheets of ice to England. Movie money!

$700M globally and still going. Suck it, OP, and not in that good way.

Drinks are on Daniel at the gay bar!

[quote]$700M globally and still going.

It's surprising that Dune is only at $300 million globally.

OP is in his quiet space having left STRICT instructions not be bothered until it's crossed the billion barrier. Or was it the trillion squillion zillion barrier? Either way, this is heartache.

Interesting numbers @ R201. Eternals should be able to do 500mil with an outside shot at making $600 mil in total before it goes to Disney+.

[QUOTE] OP is in his quiet space having left STRICT instructions not be bothered until it's crossed the billion barrier. Or was it the trillion squillion zillion barrier?

Billion, R204. With a B.

Which would’ve been a welcome relief, R197. Less Spy Kids more Bond.

R195, this was all filmed and in post pre-COVID. The promotional rollout had already started and Craig was promoting it when they pulled the plug and “post-poned” the release until October or November 2020. They were so close to opening that Craig still went ahead and hosted SNL right after it had been pulled.

So production wasn’t impacted at all by the pandemic. The release was.

[quote] It's surprising that Dune is only at $300 million globally.

Dune is now at $350 million globally. Probably will end @400-450M.

[quote] So production wasn’t impacted at all by the pandemic. The release was.

Wow. Then the story arc about the nanobots turning people into weapon transmitting their deadly poison through touching, while not getting sick themselves, was just a mere coincidence? Spooky.

Saw it on the weekend. Way too long. Rami Malek, as the villain, hardly seems in it. I don’t get his appeal, anyway - he’s one-note and monotonous in everything. But a lot more of the Bond “gadgets” in this one, so a bit more fun. I’d give it a 6/10.

r210, the plot mechanics are eerily prescient.

Are you referring to the COVID-19 vaccines, R212?

No, r213, I was referring to the fact that M had arranged for the weaponizing of the virus, which then "escaped" the lab, similar to what happened with Fauci and the Wuhan lab.

[quote] similar to what happened with Fauci and the Wuhan lab.

r214, bitch you're crazy.

How, r215? Fauci administered gain of function research at the Wuhan lab and the evidence now points to the virus having escaped from that lab. That is similar to the plot point in No Time To Die.

[quote] Fauci administered gain of function research at the Wuhan lab

No.

[quote] Fauci administered gain of function research at the Wuhan lab

[quote] No.

Yes.

The Story is a really basic, some bad guys save you when you are young and now obsessed with repeating history? Sexy, but Inexperienced Girl Spy? Woke, over achiever replacement? The woman lied that it is not your kid? The big hero has to die in the end after just finding his family? i WISH they made it cheesy like Dr. Christmas Jones, bc this pseudo intellectual crap is over-played.

P.S. That Ana de Armas girl should have been the new Bond, she is fun. The black girl is just an autistic , no fun mess.

NIH-funded is not Fauci-administered.

[quote]Rami Malek, as the villain, hardly seems in it. I don’t get his appeal, anyway - he’s one-note and monotonous in everything.

He's anything but one note. He can be bad (The Little Things), good (Bohemian Rhapsody), or preternaturally great (Mr Robot). The problem wasn't him: it was the script. It only allowed him to be a cipher.

(For an example of an actor who is *genuinely* one-note in their performances, whether good or bad, there's no better example than Nicole Kidman. There's breathy Nicole, and then there's breathy Nicole.)

r221, you don't give Nicole enough credit, since there's also perplexed looking Nicole. She's got range!

Don’t get me started on Kidman. I was watching a bit of Paddington the other night where SHE plays a villain. God: she brought absolutely nothing to it. Running through my mind the whole time were the actresses that could have brought spirit and nuance and comedy to the role. She brought a wig.

Kidman was great as traumatized whore in “LA Confidential”. Breathy and perplexed.

Kidman was not in LA Confidential. So, no.

No, Malek sucks. It’s okay if you like him. I don’t.

[quote]It’s okay if you like him. I don’t.

Thanks for letting us know, R226. We were all very concerned over whether you'd accept people liking Rami Malek.

I didn’t come into this thread to read about Nicole Kidman. Hijackers!

You’re welcome, R227.

One of the better Daniel Craig films, but they really need to bring some fun, humour, reasonable running times and a more frequent release schedule to the franchise.

There doesn’t seem to be a sense of fun in the films any more. God knows what Waller-Bridge added to the script, but it certainly wasn’t comedy.

I assume Waller-Bridge wrote De Armas' character. I actually pictured a comic type (i.e. attractive at most but no model) in that role as I was watching her.

Humor in Bond films should be limited to quips when dispatching bad guys.

Oooops, R225. But Kim Basinger was breathy and perplexed, no?

[quote]There doesn’t seem to be a sense of fun in the films any more.

I concur. Why is Craig’s Bond never allowed to have nice things?

Of course there was fun, e.g. Bond stealing the Russian scientist from 007.

R230 That's my issue with the newer Bonds, and a lot of Hollywood big franchise stuff lately. So much of it takes itself way too seriously these days (to appease the fanboys, I'm guessing). The ironic/irreverent/fun side to so many things feel so lost......

“You know they come with fur these days” made me smile. I thought it definitely the lightest of the Craig films.

Fun fact: Q’s house is situated next to Waterloo Station and the gay sauna.

Bullshit. The Deadpool films and Guardians films have plenty of ironic/irreverent/fun stuff.

Rami's been dragged out of bed to ask if you could please donate to the people smuggler transport service. Bless.

R239 Well I could care less about comic book films, nor do I find them all that clever, so I guess I'm shit out of luck.

[quote]OP probably just thought that facts are not enough to get DLers attention.

R96, what OP was hoping to do was to generate a stampede against the film, in order to damage its box office - the same thing that Russian/alt right troll farms are trying to do with 'The Eternals,' and did do to 'The Last Jedi.' Such efforts are organized, and not confined to a single forum.

What has made NTTD a target for them is the fact that the film has a black woman as 007.

Absolutely R242. The full resources of the Kremlin are directed at this effort: particularly the department "Poofta Propaganda Programma", at the corner of Pavolv and St. Rasputin St, which is focused on intensive DL trolling, given it is the major Western news source for hissing elder gays.

One has to wonder about the motive for your sarcasm, R243; it's already well-established that both Russian and alt-right trollfarms have a significant presence here on the DL. The Russians are promoting disinformation and division, and the alt-right are promoting their side of culture war issues. Just a fact.

Not to split hairs, but the alt-right with their sad incel loser army, has their own trolling scheme as well. Guys like Milo Y. orchestrated the whole downvote stunt of the Ghostbusters reboot trailer, because a reboot with female leads only cannot be allowed to succeed.

But I imagine it must sting for these losers that they are just dismissed as Boris and not have their own troll nickname.

[quote]it's already well-established that both Russian and alt-right trollfarms have a significant presence here on the DL.

It's fun watching the unhinged spiral further to psychosis.

Interesting story....

Rare photo of PoisonedDragon:

"The James Bond films have become so “an island unto itself” in terms of polished, grown-up skewing action blockbuster filmmaking that they have become prestige pictures alongside superhero sagas and 80s/90s’ nostalgia flicks. We’ve gone from “Nobody does it better” to “nobody does it at all.” However, in terms of global box office amid a global pandemic, “nobody does it better” still applies."

Number 1

[quote]Number 1

Pretty good for a FLOP.

The FLOP gets even FLOPPIER.

How strange and fascinating it's become the most successful movie ever released by Universal in Germany. Wonder why that is.

I love this kind of movie stuff: that moment in the movie when Madeline flips through the old articles about Safin: someone has screenshotted it and translated the article from the Russian!

I just want to note that almost 6 weeks ago I stated on this very thread that I predict No time to die will make 750 million. It just reached 733 million as it's winding down. I have to say that will be starting my accurate no? I win.

Startlingly*

More than one typo there, hon.

Has it made a profit yet?

Maybe OP was right after all....

The action-packed spy spectacle, which endured several coronavirus-related delays, has become the rare pandemic-era box office hit, which is even more impressive considering adult audiences — the core demographic for “No Time to Die” — have been reluctant to return to theaters. However, the movie cost more than $250 million to produce, at least $100 million to promote and tens of millions more to postpone over 16 months. Insiders say “No Time to Die” needs to make closer to $900 million to break even, a feat that would have been realistic had a global health crisis not entirely upended the theater industry. As a result, the film now stands to lose $100 million in its theatrical run, according to sources close to production. Other industry sources suggest the losses wouldn’t quite reach the nine-figure mark though they would still be substantial.

If No Time to Die loses money, then imagine how much Dune will lose. Whoever green-lit part 2 of Dune is going to be out of a job soon.

Is Dune performing badly?

That's one weird article. As one comment on it states, MGM has categorically denied it's not generating profits, yet the writer dismisses this, and firmly states its still in loss. Talk about fake news.

Speaking of weirdness, I noticed this on Instagram (see below). Deux Moi publishes a shot taken by someone of Rami Malek and his girlfriend walking in London a few days ago. Despite them having been together for several years, a series of deranged fans state it's a "long PR" exercise, one of them stating it's a family arrangement. If I was an actor that kind of obsession would spook me. No wonder he cancelled his social media accounts.

CNBC reported tonight No Time to Die is the highest grossing movie of the year with over $800 million.

$800 million is 80% of a billion.

Hollywood bookkeeping = nothing ever makes a profit

Then why do some movie stars accept a piece of the back end?

OP- $250 million dollars is not a MASSIVE budget. The 2009 movie 🎥 Avatar cost 💲 1 BILLION to produce.

net points = monkey points

Non of these figures bandied about have been audited.

[quote]Then why do some movie stars accept a piece of the back end?

I accept the back end of a piece!

So it's now made 750 million. Which I predicted on here over 6 weeks ago! Either way with the fact people are paying a premium to also treat it at home it's at least made an added 150 million. It's no flop at this amount. Then there is the added streaming numbers it will get going to the future and the huge tv rights.

Will the next Bond movie have a much smaller budget?

[quote]Will the next Bond movie have a much smaller budget?

You'd have to suspect that, while Covid rages, for the next few years most movie budgets will have their corsets tightened as much as feasible – even if insurance to protect against it sitting on a shelf with closed theatres was cost-affordable. Also, given the first movie with a new Bond will be an even bigger gamble, you'd want to limit your risk as much as possible for the first outing at least.

This fab production pic has just surfaced taken in Rami Malek/Safin's lair at Pinewood showing it had a basketball hoop! Perhaps that was for the crew!

And we were told that grown straight men were bawling at the end of this...a flop??? Oh God it cannot be!

A TikTok vid, 'Rami Malek Eats A Chip', by the guy who impersonates him, has gone viral in the last 48hrs.