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The latest instalment of the Bond franchise has broken the international pandemic box office records, making $119m (£88 million) without the China market.
The film, starring Daniel Craig in his last outing as 007, is currently being shown in 54 foreign markets and is projected to gross $65-88 million in its opening weekend in the US on October 8. It will then go on to release in China on October 29.
It had a staggering £25.9 million opening in the UK alone, making it the highest-grossing film of 2021 so far after just four days in cinema.
No Time to Die also had an impressive three-day gross of £21 million in the UK, a strong start for the 25th movie in the Bond franchise. This beats both Skyfall and Spectre, which had three-day gross openings of £20.18 million and £19.98 million in the UK respectively.
Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, the film sees Bond, who has left active service, being thrown back into MI6 on a mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist. Bond encounters mysterious new villain Safin (Rami Malek), armed with dangerous new technology.
The film, which has a runtime of two hours and 43 minutes, sees returning cast members such as Ralph Fiennes (‘M’), Naomie Harris (Miss Moneypenny), Lea Seydoux (Dr. Madeleine Swan), and Christoph Waltz (Ernst Stavro Blofeld).
The movie has been hit with multiple delays, the first coming after the departure of original director Danny Boyle. The film then had multiple official release dates following the planned April 2020 release due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bond actor Craig added, “It would have been sad [to see it on a streaming service], and we got here and we’re going to actually get into the cinemas”.
The highly-anticipated film was released to positive critical reviews, scoring fresh on approval site Rotten Tomatoes at 83% with 173 reviews. This score places it behind only Casino Royale and Skyfall from Craig’s tenure as the eponymous secret agent.
With such a successful opening weekend, No Time to Die has a good chance at overtaking the highest-grossing Bond film, Skyfall, which stands at $1.11 billion worldwide.
Words by Alex O’Leary
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