Bond 25 questions: Odds & ends edition

It’s a tense time to be a James Bond fan. The countdown to the current release date of No Time to Die is drawing down. But we’ve been here before. Naturally, the blog has questions.

Will No Time to Die actually be released this time? Or, like Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown, are Bond fans in for disappointment again?

Beats me. COVID-19 is flaring up again. The Summer Olympics were forced to have no crowds at events. In the U.S., there’s a surge in states such as Florida and Texas. The main reason are variants of the COVID-19 virus that have developed.

As recently as a month or so ago, I was pretty optimistic. I’ve stopped giving odds.

What makes sense for No Time to Die?

Financially, there are no good choices.

Back on July 31, this blog wrote about how billion-dollar movies, once a thing, have been affected in a major way by changes in the industry and by the continuing effects of COVID-19.

On Aug. 2, the MI6 James Bond website went further. That site crunched numbers. Recent major movie releases, such as F9 and Marvel’s Black Widow, have seen major falloffs in their second weekend of release.

According to MI6, if that trend holds up for a September/October release for No Time to Die, it will be hard for the 25th James Bond film to recoup the movie’s massive investment.

What are you trying to say?

It’s possible — possible, mind you — that No Time to Die will be the worst performing Bond film in terms of profit versus investment ($300 million or more). A 2021 release may be disappointing. But another delay means another $1 million a month in interest costs until the movie comes out.

Neither is a great choice.

Any advice?

As a fan, you have no control over any of this. If the movie makes its current release date, make your plans to see it safely. If it gets delayed? Well, we’ve adjusted before and we can do it again.