What would it take for Skyfall to be top financial 007 movie?

Many James Bond fans are jazzed about recent Skyfall trailers (a special Imax trailer and just-released U.S. and international trailers). So much so, some wonder whether Skyfall could be the No. 1 financial Bond film, even adjusted for inflation.

That got us to thinking: what would it take for Skyfall to be the uncontested 007 worldwide box office champion? Here’s a look:

Current No. 1 (unadjusted): Casino Royale (2006) at $596.4 million.

Current No. 1 (adjusted for inflation): Thunderball (1965) at $1.04 billion. (Unadjusted: $141.2 million)

In unadjusted figures, Skyfall’s ticket sales would have to be more than 70 percent higher than Casino Royale’s real world box office gross to exceed the adjusted $1.04 billion figure for Thunderball and become the undisputed 007 box-office champion, adjusted or unadjusted. Meanwhile, only 12 movies have had (unadjusted, or real life) worldwide ticket sales of $1 billion or more. You can see the list by CLICKING HERE.

None of this is to throw cold water on the subject. Rather, if the optimistic 007 fans are proven right, this gives you an idea of the scope of the accomplishment.

Meanwhile, if Skyfall’s worldwide ticket sales are only, say, a “mere” $800 million to $900 million (making Skyfall the top-grossing 007 film on an unadjusted basis), fans shouldn’t feel disappointed. We suspect executives at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Sony Corp. and Eon Productions would be positively giddy. Movies are much more expensive to make and market than the old days, but that’s still real money.