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Since 1962, the name ‘007’ and ‘James Bond’ is one everyone in your household knows. The international man of mystery, the constant espionage of thrills and an agent who never encountered a villain he could not defeat. Over the years, many critics and Bond fans have ranked the success of each and every film and some have been criticised as not a true Bond film. Below, we look at various ways in which the 007 movies can be measured to gain a better understanding of their success.
Since 1962, the name ‘007’ and ‘James Bond’ is one everyone in your household knows. The international man of mystery, the constant espionage of thrills and an agent who never encountered a villain he could not defeat. Over the years, many critics and Bond fans have ranked the success of each and every film and some have been criticised as not a true Bond film. Below, we look at various ways in which the 007 movies can be measured to gain a better understanding of their success.
Bond Films in Order (most recent)
Bond Films by Actor
Bond Films by Director
Production & Box Office Success
For the purposes of the graphs below, we have calculated the production costs, box office revenue and overall profit using the year 2020 as the benchmark for inflation.
Production Costs & Box Office Revenue
Profit
Analysing the data above, although it is widely perceived that Skyfall was the most successful Bond film, in terms of profit made Thunderball takes the lead. In 1965 Thunderball spent around $9 million dollars on film production, in 2020 that is worth around $73 million dollars. Furthermore, it is reported Thunderball had taken over $141 million dollars in the worldwide box office, however, in 2020 that totals an astonishing $1.1 billion dollars, resulting in over a $1.07 billion dollar profit.
Awards & Nominations
Awards and nominations are always a good way of measuring success, after all it is the critics and fans who select the winners. However, over time there has been an increase in award ceremonies and specialist categories. Furthermore, measuring success through award totals will include various other films and competitors in that specific year.
Having said that, by measuring the Bond films via awards and nominations it is clear Skyfall wins by a landslide. With a total of 122 nominations and 66 wins, Skyfall is to this date the most successful Bond film chosen by critics and fans.
So, is there a correlation between awards, profit and actors? Since 1962, 7 male actors have stepped up and become one of the most well-known actors in the UK and across the world. From Sean Connery to Daniel Craig each and every 007 agent brought a different theme to the table. From Brosnans sex appeal to Moore’s intelligence, each actor brought an intoxicating persona of Bond. To measure each actor fairly, we have calculated the total average of each film the actors appear in. Although Daniel Craig is currently on his fifth Bond film, his average worldwide box office total does not include the 2020 ‘No Time To Die’. However, it is clear Daniel Craig is the most successful James Bond protagonist judging by the figures below.
Director Success
Directors are arguably what makes or breaks a film franchise. Not only do directors need to execute their vision clearly, work with existing actors and actresses, but most importantly stand in the shadows of previous directors and their success.
Since a few directors worked on multiple Bond films, we have calculated the total average worldwide box office totals. Although John Glen directed five of the 007 films, the total average is still below the success of his predecessors and many others that followed. However, John Glen directed 2 different James Bonds; Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton.
Villain Success
Many film critics and fans will be drawn to a film purely because of the main antagonist. Therefore, we have calculated the success based on the character themselves and the actor in which plays the antagonist. A villain known to all James Bond fans is Ernst Stavro Blofeld, but does the actor play a role in the antagonist’s success?
Character
Actor
Theme Song
Whether you are a James Bond fanatic or a newcomer, everyone will know that each film comes with its own unique theme song (that isn’t the original James Bond theme tune) and in today’s charts often do extremely well. Although we don’t measure the success of the films through the theme song, we wanted to take a look back at some of the greats and where they stood in their own success.
