Give the public what they want: Box office, theatregoers and the myth of the perfect Bond Movie

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  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    edited December 2012 Posts: 28,694
    I don't think the books will ever be properly faithfully adapted. I think the best we can hope for is they put bits of material they haven't used before into the films, like they used to do.
    Maybe for the 100th?

    After the let down that was (or is technically) the 50th I wouldn't expect much anniversary wise in the future.

    We got Skyfall, which is now nearing a billion dollars, both a critical and financial success, showing Bond is more popular than before. Furthermore, we know more films are on the way, with some class A talent attached, giving Bond a promising future. If you ask me, that's all a Bond fan could ask for in the 50th year.
  • edited December 2012 Posts: 12,837
    They really delivered with SF but celebration wise it wasn't great.

    How many people actually knew it was James Bond day? The game was terrible and basically nothing was happening. Remember everybody was angry at Connery for not doing the 50th celebrations? Well that didn't matter because we didn't get any.

    Oh wait, we got an auction most of us couldn't afford and a documentary that America got for free, the UK had to pay for and other places just couldn't watch it (thank God for the member on here who put it on Youtube).

    To be fair we did get the car exhibit but other than that it really wasn't very exciting. Even the film posters were let downs (except the teaser).
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    In light of the Sixties popularity of the hero-ized Bond, do you think if Dr. No had started right off in a Golfinger-ish lighter way, the series would have been even more popular from the start than it was?

  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    They really delivered with SF but celebration wise it wasn't great.

    How many people actually knew it was James Bond day? The game was terrible and basically nothing was happening. Remember everybody was angry at Connery for not doing the 50th celebrations? Well that didn't matter because we didn't get any.

    Oh wait, we got an auction most of us couldn't afford and a documentary that America got for free, the UK had to pay for and other places just couldn't watch it (thank God for the member on here who put it on Youtube).

    To be fair we did get the car exhibit but other than that it really wasn't very exciting. Even the film posters were let downs (except the teaser).

    Absolutely spot on.

    I dont think saying SF was a great film as many are doing is a defence either. Shouldnt they be trying to make a great film every time? Or are we supposed to be on our knees with gratitude every 10 years because they actually put in some effort and hired some top talent to give us a good film (2002 notwithstanding obviously!) and the rest of the time take whatever pap they throw our way?

    The 50th was pathetic for all the reasons thelivingroyale states above and more. The only person who delivered for the 50th was Danny Boyle and I'm pretty sure that had bugger all to do with EON and Sony.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    I dont think saying SF was a great film as many are doing is a defence either. Shouldnt they be trying to make a great film every time?

    Absa-bloody-lutely. It should make no bloody difference whatsoever whether Bond is 37 years old, 50 years old, 58 years old, I couldn't give a hoot. It winds me up when people use this as an excuse, it's like they've been to the EON equivalent of Piz Gloria.

  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    They really delivered with SF but celebration wise it wasn't great.

    How many people actually knew it was James Bond day? The game was terrible and basically nothing was happening. Remember everybody was angry at Connery for not doing the 50th celebrations? Well that didn't matter because we didn't get any.

    Oh wait, we got an auction most of us couldn't afford and a documentary that America got for free, the UK had to pay for and other places just couldn't watch it (thank God for the member on here who put it on Youtube).

    To be fair we did get the car exhibit but other than that it really wasn't very exciting. Even the film posters were let downs (except the teaser).
    But the film was the celebration! The assurance that sometimes the oldest things are the best things, that human spies (Bond) still have relevance in a technological time. That Bond is back, has always been here and isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Really, all Skyfall needed was a ribbon and card from EON.
  • Sorry but I agree with @RC7 and @TheWizardOfIce. They should try and make a great film anyway. I'm not sure it counts as an anniversary celebration.
  • Posts: 277
    Yh they should aim for all the films to be great not make an extra effort due to the 50th anniversary.
  • acoppolaacoppola London Ealing not far from where Bob Simmons lived
    Posts: 1,243
    Had Thunderball been released in the same amount of territories as the more recent Bonds then I expect it would have taken way, way over the billion. More like 1.5 billion. It was a mega,mega hit.

    Countries like Russia,Poland, East Germany, Lithuania, and most Eastern Block countries banned Bond in the cinema. And it was banned in China. Now Bond has all the considerable extra millions from those countries.

    The most successful Bonds always had a killer promotional campaign. Yes it helps if a film is good but let's face it, Moonraker still cleaned up at the box office so that tells you that quality is not the motivator that gets you to the cinema.

  • acoppolaacoppola London Ealing not far from where Bob Simmons lived
    edited December 2012 Posts: 1,243
    They really delivered with SF but celebration wise it wasn't great.

    How many people actually knew it was James Bond day? The game was terrible and basically nothing was happening. Remember everybody was angry at Connery for not doing the 50th celebrations? Well that didn't matter because we didn't get any.

    Oh wait, we got an auction most of us couldn't afford and a documentary that America got for free, the UK had to pay for and other places just couldn't watch it (thank God for the member on here who put it on Youtube).

    To be fair we did get the car exhibit but other than that it really wasn't very exciting. Even the film posters were let downs (except the teaser).

    Absolutely spot on.

    I dont think saying SF was a great film as many are doing is a defence either. Shouldnt they be trying to make a great film every time? Or are we supposed to be on our knees with gratitude every 10 years because they actually put in some effort and hired some top talent to give us a good film (2002 notwithstanding obviously!) and the rest of the time take whatever pap they throw our way?

    The 50th was pathetic for all the reasons thelivingroyale states above and more. The only person who delivered for the 50th was Danny Boyle and I'm pretty sure that had bugger all to do with EON and Sony.

    True. It seems we have to kiss ass when they make a really good Bond like they are doing us a favour. :) There is no excuse with the budgets they got for the last 17 years. Bond as a franchise has got way more leniency than other franchises that get the plug pulled after one misfire of a film.

    And I think the 50th has been the most underwhelming 50th I can imagine. At least with the 40th, it was nice to see the other Bonds minus Sean at the premiere. It makes no sense they did not do the same for the 50th.

  • Posts: 277
    acoppola wrote:
    Had Thunderball been released in the same amount of territories as the more recent Bonds then I expect it would have taken way, way over the billion. More like 1.5 billion. It was a mega,mega hit.

    Countries like Russia,Poland, East Germany, Lithuania, and most Eastern Block countries banned Bond in the cinema. And it was banned in China. Now Bond has all the considerable extra millions from those countries.

    The most successful Bonds always had a killer promotional campaign. Yes it helps if a film is good but let's face it, Moonraker still cleaned up at the box office so that tells you that quality is not the motivator that gets you to the cinema.

    yh with these markets Thunder ball would of made several hundred million more adjusted for inflation. As many of these are big markets Skyfall looks to make around $75 mil in Germany, Russia is at about $25 mil and China should add about $50 mil so Thunderball would of made at least $1.2 billion if it had been released in these markets. Yh good movies does not make a big blockbuster sucess for a big franchise look at the top 10 highest grossers ever some pretty bad movies in there e.g Pirates 2 and 4 Transformers 3 for example.
  • acoppolaacoppola London Ealing not far from where Bob Simmons lived
    edited December 2012 Posts: 1,243
    htall90 wrote:
    acoppola wrote:
    Had Thunderball been released in the same amount of territories as the more recent Bonds then I expect it would have taken way, way over the billion. More like 1.5 billion. It was a mega,mega hit.

    Countries like Russia,Poland, East Germany, Lithuania, and most Eastern Block countries banned Bond in the cinema. And it was banned in China. Now Bond has all the considerable extra millions from those countries.

    The most successful Bonds always had a killer promotional campaign. Yes it helps if a film is good but let's face it, Moonraker still cleaned up at the box office so that tells you that quality is not the motivator that gets you to the cinema.

    yh with these markets Thunder ball would of made several hundred million more adjusted for inflation. As many of these are big markets Skyfall looks to make around $75 mil in Germany, Russia is at about $25 mil and China should add about $50 mil so Thunderball would of made at least $1.2 billion if it had been released in these markets. Yh good movies does not make a big blockbuster sucess for a big franchise look at the top 10 highest grossers ever some pretty bad movies in there e.g Pirates 2 and 4 Transformers 3 for example.

    Connery was the biggest actor in the world at the time of Thunderball. There was no IMAX either or multiplexes so that needs to be taken into account. IMAX tciket prices are higher too.

    Also tickets sold needs to be looked at. I know Thunderball holds that record. Back then people went to see Connery and then Bond. Bond was huge of course but Connery was the motivator to go and see it. No denying, but the man was a mega star. Craig is the not the sole reason SF is doing great. Mendes being the director of Oscar recognition has his fan base as well. And the Olympics gave a nice helping hand when billions saw Bond and the Queen in the opening ceremony. That is publicity you cannot buy.




    I loved Pirate 2 and 4. But Transformers made me want to pull down the screen at my local cinema. I thought my intelligence was being p**sed on and took it as an insult :)

  • We got Skyfall, which is now nearing a billion dollars, both a critical and financial success, showing Bond is more popular than before. Furthermore, we know more films are on the way, with some class A talent attached, giving Bond a promising future. If you ask me, that's all a Bond fan could ask for in the 50th year.

    Hey do you remember the few here who explained that EON knew nothing about show business, that a 50th year celebration was more important than releasing one more Bond movie "as usual" ? :)

  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    We got Skyfall, which is now nearing a billion dollars, both a critical and financial success, showing Bond is more popular than before. Furthermore, we know more films are on the way, with some class A talent attached, giving Bond a promising future. If you ask me, that's all a Bond fan could ask for in the 50th year.

    Hey do you remember the few here who explained that EON knew nothing about show business, that a 50th year celebration was more important than releasing one more Bond movie "as usual" ? :)
    I do, and I wondered what lunatic asylum they were gotten from. Still don't know, but the search is narrowing down. ;)
  • edited December 2012 Posts: 2,015
    acoppola wrote:
    Connery was the biggest actor in the world at the time of Thunderball.
    He was the "coolest", I'd rather say. I am one of the most vocal here to explain Skyfall is not Bondmania back again, but we should not also rewrite history to say Goldinger and Thunderball were the #1 movies.
    Goldfinger was never #1 of the week in the US for instance, and Thunderball was #1 only for 1 week (but note that at that time charts in the US were seemingly opinion polls from movie theater managers, and not "hard facts" !)
    It was a time were the moviegoers were not only 14-34 years old, but also the parents on their own, and not just to bring the kids to see a Disney. So, for instance, in the US, Doctor Zhivago did almost twice more as Thunderball, and the Sound of Music almost three times. But TB had the cool factor to the max... (and this despite bashing the Beatles - sometimes I wonder if it's a telling sign that at that time the Beatles were considered as Twilight today : "for the girls only" !)
  • bond50bond50 Banned
    Posts: 42
    I don't think Bond fans and the general public really worry about how much money a Bond film makes . EON and MGM sure aren't handing out checks to Bond fans are they ?
  • In the time of Tunderball, movies didn't have a new blockbuster coming out every weekend (which results in movies being pushed out of theatres much, much faster). They also didn't have the DVD/BluRay market or Netflix/cable/streaming to dampen the movie going population. Back then, if you really liked a movie you could go several times over the course of a couple months because: A) the movie would stay in the theatres much longer than they do today; and B) You knew as soon as it was out of theatres, you might not get a chance to see it again for years (if ever).

    I don't take anything away from the greatness of Thunderball, but I find trying to compare box office sucess of any older movie with a modern one pretty useless. It's a totally different world now. There's just no way to 'equalize' all the different factors.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    Grinderman wrote:
    I don't take anything away from the greatness of Thunderball, but I find trying to compare box office sucess of any older movie with a modern one pretty useless. It's a totally different world now. There's just no way to 'equalize' all the different factors.
    That is a very cogent argument, @Grinderman! I must agree completely.
    I saw movies in the cinema multiple times in my teens, now it's once then I purchase the DVD.
  • 001001
    Posts: 1,575
    Eon try to make the best bond film possible and i wouldn't look at the earnings of the films to compare them.
    Just because a film earns say $1 billion doesn't mean it's the best.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    001 wrote:
    Eon try to make the best bond film possible and i wouldn't look at the earnings of the films to compare them.
    Just because a film earns say $1 billion doesn't mean it's the best.
    And that's the point of this thread, really. It says more about the public's readiness to devour well made escapist entertainment (hopefully with as much Flemingesque moments & character as the film-makers can comfortably slip into the frey) than it says about what really makes up a great 'Bond' film IMO.
  • 001001
    Posts: 1,575
    chrisisall wrote:
    001 wrote:
    Eon try to make the best bond film possible and i wouldn't look at the earnings of the films to compare them.
    Just because a film earns say $1 billion doesn't mean it's the best.
    And that's the point of this thread, really. It says more about the public's readiness to devour well made escapist entertainment (hopefully with as much Flemingesque moments & character as the film-makers can comfortably slip into the frey) than it says about what really makes up a great 'Bond' film IMO.

    And the earnings of the films of the films depends on what they are released against.

    For example, if skyfall was competing against a batman and some animated pixar film
    at the cinemas it woudn't have earned as much money as it has.

  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited December 2012 Posts: 17,801
    001 wrote:
    And the earnings of the films of the films depends on what they are released against.
    Too true. I personally saw TLD & LTK both once only in theatres, while I saw Aliens & Batman multiple times.
    I now feel so bad about that.... :\">

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