Bond 25 questions: Still on track for November?

No Time to Die teaser poster

There hasn’t been a lot of news on the No Time to Die front. But there has been enough to get fans interested. As usual, the blog has questions.

No Time to Die Licensees are moving forward. Doesn’t that mean that No Time to Die has to be coming out in November, as scheduled?

That depends on whether you think the licensees are in the loop or not.

But yes, we have new NTTD-based Funko Pops and two limited-edition Aston Martin cars based on the 25th James Bond film coming out.

What do you make of the comments by an MGM executive on a recent investor call?

Personally, I think Christopher Brearton, the company’s chief operating officer, is hedging his bets.

On the one hand, he said Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer “currently” has three films scheduled for 2020, including No Time to Die in November.

On the other hand, he also said: “We continue to monitor and adjust the timing of our remaining 2020 (film) slate.”

But we’ll see.

Will No Time to Die come out on premium video on demand (PVOD)?

It’s one thing to bring out Bill & Ted Face the Music (from MGM’s Orion brand) on PVOD. It’s another to bring out a big “tentpole” movie like No Time to Die.

Walt Disney Co. is going the PVOD route with Mulan, another big movie. But Disney doesn’t have a lot of company right now.

Brearton said “great movies” can “be monetized” in a number of ways. But he certainly didn’t say No Time to Die would go the PVOD route. He spoke more generally about using theaters and PVOD in the near term for films.

MGM gets into PVOD via Bill & Ted 3

MGM’s Leo the Lion logo

It doesn’t get a lot of 007 fan discussion but Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Bond’s home studio, is dipping its toe in the premium video on demand water with Bill & Ted Face the Music. 

The third Bill & Ted movie is a project of Orion, a brand of MGM. It’s coming out on Aug. 28 “in traditional theatres, drive-ins and PVOD,” as noted by Exhibitor Relations Co. Essentially it’s being released by both traditional and PVOD means amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

To be clear there are a lot of differences between Bill & Ted 3 and No Time to Die. Bill & Ted is a smaller budgeted film. MGM’s Orion brand is set up to release less expensive movies.

Also, Bill & Ted 3 is a “an acquisition title” for Orion, The Hollywood Reporter noted in a July 23 story.

No Time to Die, meanwhile is part of MGM’s crown jewels, the Bond franchise. The 25th 007 film has a reported $250 million budget. The conventional wisdom is it needs a big theatrical release.

Walt Disney Co. earlier this week, opted to move one of its big projects, Mulan, to PVOD. It will be available for $29.99 to people who already subscribe to its Disney + streaming service.

How much does any of this have to do with No Time to Die? Maybe nothing. At the very least, MGM is getting a little experience with PVOD.