After its first weekend in theaters, box office analysts are questions whether No Time To Die, Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond, came hit recoup the productions costs of the film thanks to competition from an unusually jam-packed October line-up of tentpole films, some of the movie’s key demographics being hesitant to return to theaters amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the extra tens of millions of dollars the studio hemorrhaged in associated costs with many pandemic-induced delays to its release.
As Variety reports, though the film netted a strong $56 million domestically over the weekend, that figure lacks significant punch when you compare it to its $250 million budget and additional $100 million to promote it. Globally, the film has grossed $313 million so far.
According to the report, analysts predict that No Time To Die will need to net between $800 million and $900 in the international box office just to break even, however. That will be a tall order for a film that experts are saying may fall short of some of its most recent predecessor’s domestic box office winnings, with that figure being approximately $150 million compared to the $300 million domestic gross of 2012’s Skyfall‘s and the $200 million domestic gross of 2015’s Spectre.
Bond may yet have a chance to at least break even, however, if it scores big with its October 29 release date in China, a popular market for the franchise.
Having to compete with box office heavy hitter Venom: Let There Be Carnage as well as seeing older people stay away from theaters over COVID concerns are just some of the challenges No Time To Die has to overcome, however, the film’s generally positive critical reception could be a positive sign for the movie’s long term prospects.
