Box Office Success: “No Time to Die”
By Jake Hanchett
For those who enjoy intense action and a clear story line, James Bond’s ”No Time to Die” directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga is a must see. It was anticipated to bring back past Bond fans, as well as the new. That’s exactly what happened during this week’s release of the movie in the United States.
“No Time to Die” features Daniel Craig in his fifth and final go as the British MI6 agent, James Bond. The storyline goes that Bond, who recently left his service with MI6, gets recruited by the CIA to rescue a kidnapped scientist. This leads to a race in order to find this scientist and figure out why he has been taken. Bond is the only man that can take this job on, and make things right.
According to CNBC’s Sarah Whitten there were three key points she listed in her review of the movie. She wrote, “‘No Time to Die’ tallied an estimated $56 million during its domestic opening weekend. Globally the film has garnered $313.3 million since its international release two weeks ago. Nearly 60% of moviegoers who turned up to see the film this weekend were over 35 years old and 36% of ticket buyers aged over 45.”
This manifests that the typical viewer of this series is middle aged. This means they may not be as inclined to go see the premiere. Rather, they wait a few weeks before the theatres are less crowded, or even stay home until it is released on DVD or a streaming service.
In comparison to other James Bond films, this one brought in an estimated $56 million for opening weekend. This ranks for the fourth best showing of Bond films in the franchise’s almost 60 year history. Even though these statistics paint success, it still shows the difficulty that the pandemic has caused the industry. Getting customers to go and buy a ticket has not been the easiest of tasks either. According to Rebecca Rubin, from Variety, “With pandemic limitations in mind, as of early July, the overall domestic box office has reached $1.05 billion in ticket sales, down 42.3% from 2020 and down 81.3% from 2019.”
These statistics show the destruction that the pandemic has caused. (Not to be too gloomy on the subject). However, there is a light at the end of this madness. Rubin writes,”There are currently 4,698 theatres in North America that are open for business (the exact number fluctuates daily), an improvement from the 1,341 venues that were open in 2020 but still down from the 5,839 locations that were open in 2019.”
As more theatres reopen back up to the public, this will allow for more viewers. It is difficult to predict if this movie was released in the non-pandemic era whether or not the viewership would be different. However, for the current situation that the world is in, this movie is counted as a success.
For those that are looking for a current-new movie to try, I would highly recommend “No Time to Die”. It is a movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and wanting more. There were moments where the viewer didn’t know what James Bond would be faced with next, or if an explosion would happen. The storyline is clear because each scene that happens throughout the movie has a purpose. It doesn’t leave the viewer confused or lost throughout the presentation.
“No Time to Die” is a must see, and to have an even better experience, make sure to grab some movie theater butter popcorn before you take your seat.
