Getting the latest James Bond adventure,No Time to Die, to screens has been a task so difficult to undertake that even the iconic secret agent himself would have likely struggled. Well, with this in mind, it should come as no surprise that the release date drama that has plaguedNo Time to Diewill come at a cost, with the movie reportedly needing to make $900 million worldwide just to break even, making the movie the most expensive 007 outing ever made.
Breaking this down,No Time to Diewas last costed at 214 million pounds according to Companies House in the UK, with the amount having increased from 199.5 million pounds due to interest charges. Now, a year later, that has risen to around 226 million pounds, or $314 million, and once marketing costs have been added into the astronomically priced mix, that comes to around $464 million at the lower end, making that the rough figureNo Time to Diewill need to make to be profitable.
However, where the $900 millionbox office figurecomes into play is due to the split between the cinematic exhibitor and the movie’s distributors, with MGM likely expecting to take around 50 per cent of every dollar spent on cinema tickets worldwide, meaning the movie needs to make at least $928 million. And thus, the most expensive James Bond movie was born.
Sure,007 adventuresare usually extremely popular with audiences, with Daniel Craig’s last two outings,SkyfallandSpectre, making $1 billion and $880 million respectively, but these are not normal times. For context,Fast and Furious 9, which has been declared the biggest movie of the summer, has so far made $642 million since its release in June, whereas the previous installment broke a billion. No movie has come close to producing a figure as high as $900 million. Can James Bond do it?
No Time to Diehas beenplagued with delays, with the movie initially supposed to hit theaters way back in November 2019. Thanks to a director change, an injury, and then a global halt,No Time to Diehas been met with rising costs, with the movie reportedly costing the studio $1 million a month in interest until the movie is released. There have also been reports of reshoots to replace now outdated product placement, with the studio even looking to sellNo Time to Dieto a streaming service for an eye-watering $600 million. As expected, there were no takers.
Set five years after the capture of Ernst Stavro Blofeld,No Time to Diefinds James Bond having left active service. His peaceful life is short-lived, and he is approached by his friend and CIA officer Felix Leiter, who enlists his help in the search for Valdo Obruchev, a missing scientist. When it becomes apparent that Obruchev has been abducted, Bond must confront a villain whose schemes could see the death of millions.
Featuring Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007,No Time to Dieis directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga from a screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Fukunaga, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Rory Kinnear, and Ralph Fiennes reprise their roles from previous films, with Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Ana de Armas, Dali Benssalah, Billy Magnussen, and David Dencik joining the cast as new characters.
This$900 million price taghas now allegedly led to talk of a further delay, with audiences still somewhat uneasy about returning to theaters. For now though,No Time to Dieis scheduled for release on 12 August 2025 in the United Kingdom and 19 August 2025 in the United States. This comes to us fromThe Express.
