Most studios have adjusted with the times over the course of the pandemic and have been moving their major releases onto streaming, at least simultaneously with their theatrical runs. One of the hottest upcoming films to remain exclusive to the big screen, though, is No Time To Die, the long-awaited 25th James Bond adventure that’s finally due to drop this September/October.
After so many delays, the pressure is on the movie to be an enormous success, and it seems MGM is hoping that a swanky red carpet premiere in London can help with that. The Mirror is reporting that the studio is funnelling a whole £10 million (that’s roughly $14 million US dollars) into plans for “the biggest in-person premiere of the post-pandemic era” this fall.
As The Mirror’s insider source puts it:
“MGM and the Bond producers are in agreement. They think they can pull off the biggest in-person premiere of the post-pandemic era, and have already put aside a whopping £10million for an event in England that will signal the return of these kinds of flashy movie launches that everybody’s been missing for the last year.”
It’s unclear where the London premiere will take place, but MGM is also apparently looking to pull off something similar for the film’s US premiere in Los Angeles.
“They are looking at the biggest venues in London, starting with Wembley and going down from there, and have enquired about the Staples Center in Los Angeles for a US premiere.
James Bond is all about the glitz and the glamour, and that’s why MGM is intent on not following the current trend for low-key socially-distanced movie premieres. Their hope for a traditional big shindig to launch the pic is apparently partially why they’ve stuck with a cinematic release plan.
“MGM and the Bond team have never liked the idea of launching this movie without a red carpet event, which is one of the many reasons they’ve rolled with all the delays.”
As The Mirror’s source went on to add, NTTD features some of the hottest stars in the world, so the studio is going to want to show them off.
“You don’t cast Ana de Armas and then not give her the chance to walk the biggest red carpet on the planet.”
Of course, Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007 has been a long time coming – in fact, it’ll be six years since 2015’s Spectre by the time it gets here. That’s as lengthy as the infamous hiatus between Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan’s eras in the 90s. You might say the future of the franchise rests on No Time To Die making a major impact when it hits cinemas this September 30th in the UK and October 8th in the US, then, and MGM is going to keep throwing money at it in the hopes that it will.
