No Time to Die: James Bond film smashes box office records

Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007 has smashed UK box office records, grossing more on its opening weekend than any other film in the history of the James Bond franchise, and has become the biggest movie of the year after only four days in cinemas.

No Time to Die, which received its world public premiere in the UK at midnight on Wednesday, has also broken international pandemic box office records, making $119m (£88m) in the 54 markets where the film has launched to date.

This makes it the first title from a Hollywood studio to crack $100m without opening in China, the world’s second-biggest movie market, since the pandemic began more than 18 months ago.

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In the UK and Ireland, Bondmania fuelled almost £26m in ticket sales over its first four days as fans awaiting the thrice-delayed film – No Time to Die was originally scheduled to premiere in April last year – headed to cinemas in record numbers. The film’s three-day opening weekend, from Friday through to Sunday night, hit a record £21m, according to the UK Cinema Association.

This makes it more successful than Skyfall and Spectre, the two biggest films in the history of the 59-year-old franchise, which each managed £20m at the UK box office on their three-day opening weekends. No Time To Die is also already the biggest film of the year, passing Peter Rabbit 2 which made £20.2m at the UK and Ireland box office.

No Time to Die, which also holds the record as the longest Bond film, clocking in at two hours and 45 minutes, has enjoyed the widest theatrical release of any film in UK history, launching in 772 cinemas with more than 9,000 shows daily.

Universal Pictures, which is releasing the film alongside MGM, said that so far internationally No Time to Die is performing in line with Skyfall, the most successful Bond film of all time which grossed $1.1bn globally. However, it is tracking 17% below Spectre, which went on to make $880m globally.

The next box office test for No Time to Die will be its launch on 8 October in the US, film, the world’s biggest market, followed by China on 29 October.

The pandemic could hinder the ability of the film to ultimately match Skyfall’s record, as analysts estimate that one in five cinemas globally are still shut.