During the height of the COVID-19 crisis when the entire entertainment industry and much of the planet was in a state of total lockdown, rumors began making the rounds that No Time to Die could end up being sent to streaming.
As ridiculous as it sounded, at the time there was no indication of when things would even begin showing a hint of returning to normality, so it was nowhere near as far-fetched as it reads now.
There was talk that Netflix was going to wave its bottomless checkbook in MGM’s face to try and acquire the exclusive distribution rights to 007’s 25th feature length outing, with figures as high as $600 million being quoted. That never came to pass, more than likely because Eon Productions’ Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson would never sign off on it.
No Time to Die is set to score a bumper haul at the box office by the time it finishes its theatrical run, and during a Q&A session at Deadline‘s Contenders event, director Cary Joji Fukunaga voiced his relief that the globetrotting blockbuster can only be seen in theaters.
“It was a major, major relief that it didn’t end up on a streaming platform and that audiences are showing up. The numbers are really exciting.”
Amazon have skin in the James Bond game these days having acquired MGM, but the long-running spy series will remain part of the big screen experience, with No Time to Die proving that the iconic character hasn’t lost any of his commercial luster.