This Halloween weekend saw No Time To Die, the 25th entry into the ever-popular James Bond franchise debut in China.
Opening on Friday the film took an estimated $28m (£16m) in China on the back of over 1,400 cinemas being forced to close due to restrictions coming into place due to a Covid-19 outbreak.
Whilst the number doesn’t seem too high, if it continues to hold over well, like the film has done in other countries around the world, it may continue to eat up the box office.
Opening at number 1 in the territory, taking the crown from the homegrown release The Battle at Lake Changjin ($19m/£13m) and Dune took the third spot.
Lake Changjin now sits on around $850m which truly shows the power of the Chinese box office.
There’s No Time To Die Mr. Bond
Read more: Is It Just Me Or Does No Time To Die Not Look Very Good?
The film still has one final major market to open within, Australia which has been delayed due to lockdowns and restrictions making it difficult to time the release.
But it’s very much in the realms of possibility that the film will hit if not eclipse $650m. Only one other Hollywood release this year has broken the $600m and that was Fast & Furious 9 which was massively helped by China.
Whether or not James Bond has the same appeal (Spectre took $83m) is another thing, but considering Spectre made such an amount, if restrictions subside it’s still possible to hit at least $50m.
In the UK, the film smashed another record as for the 29th consecutive day it grossed over £1m ($1.3m). An amazing feat.
The total for the UK after just a month now looks set to be $116m (£85m), $62m (£45m) in Germany & $26 (£19m) in France.
In the United States, the film has now grossed around $133m (£97m), that’s around $50m off where Spectre 4 weeks in ($180m) which shows the box office is recovering, but the pandemic is still having its effect.
The last 2 bond films grossed almost $2billion between them, Skyfall hit massive highs in 2012 of $1.108 billion, and Spectre in 2015 took $880m worldwide. The expectation is No Time To Die will land somewhere around $180m-250m less than Spectre.
What are your thoughts? Do you see the film continuing to draw audiences in?
Let us know in the comments below!
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