A year and a half after becoming the first major movie to shift back its release in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, No Time To Die justified that decision earlier this month when Daniel Craig’s 007 swansong (finally) opened in cinemas to impressive box office figures, including a record first weekend for a Bond movie here in the UK.
This past weekend, the 25th official entry in the Bond canon took its global haul beyond the $500 million mark, a feat that only one other Hollywood movie – Universal’s F9: The Fast Saga – has managed in the “pandemic era” (as have Chinese titles Hi, Mom, The Battle at Lake Changjin and Detective Chinatown 3).
With $120 million from North America and a further $405 million internationally, No Time To Die is currently sitting on $525.5 million, which puts it ahead of every non-Daniel Craig Bond movie and just $65 million short of Quantum of Solace. It’s also the fifth highest-grossing movie of 2021 behind Detective Chinatown 3 on $686.3 million, with F9 sitting in third on $716.6 million.
Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
No Time To Die stars Daniel Craig (James Bond), Ralph Fiennes (M), Naomie Harris (Moneypenny), Rory Kinnear (Tanner), Léa Seydoux (Madeleine Swann), Ben Whishaw (Q), Jeffrey Wright (Felix Leiter), and Christoph Waltz (Blofeld), while new additions include Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody), Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049), Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel), Billy Magnussen (Velvet Buzzsaw), Dali Benssalah (A Faithful Man) and David Dencik (Top of the Lake).
