Bond Decade Grossing Numbers

The talk about Bond's grossing numbers recently has prompted me to make this thread. I'm going to divide each decade of Bond (EON Canon only) into its total worldwide gross, its average worldwide gross per film, and what the highest and lowest grossing Bond films were for that period. I'm also going to rank the Bond films of that decade in ascending order based on their worldwide gross. I'm just curious to see what people think of the stats. All box office numbers have been adjusted to the 2005 US dollar (in millions).

The 1960's

Total Worldwide Gross: $3466.8

Average Worldwide Gross Per Film: $577.8

Highest Grossing Film: Thunderball - $848.1 (2nd overall)

Lowest Grossing Film: On Her Majesty's Secret Service - $291.5 (3rd last overall)

From lowest to highest-grossing: OHMSS, DN, YOLT, FRWL, GF, TB

Notes: Far and away the highest total gross, owing to the fact that it's the only decade with six movies. Even then, it's a credit to how much money Connery's movies made, considering that even with OHMSS dragging it down, the 60's was still the second highest in average worldwide gross per film, mostly thanks to GF and TB (FRWL also comes in 6th overall). A very impressive showing, since this was Bond's first decade and he hadn't (or shouldn't have) reached as many people as in later decades.

In terms of each Bond film's standing in its respective year, the 60's is also easily the most impressive decade. DN and GF are both the highest-grossing film of their respective years, while FRWL, TB and OHMSS are the second-highest grossing films of their respective years. YOLT is the third-highest grossing film of its respective year. The fact that Bond films never slipped below third place in their respective years, despite the 60's being Bond's opening decade, speaks to the popularity of Bond (and the likely root for its longevity as a series).


The 1970's

Total Worldwide Gross: $2284.8

Average Worldwide Gross Per Film: $456.96

Highest Grossing Film: Moonraker - $535.0 (7th overall)

Lowest Grossing Film: The Man With The Golden Gun - $334.0 (5th last overall)

From lowest to highest-grossing: TMWTGG, DAF, LALD, TSWLM, MR

Notes: Not bad. The 70's vastly outgrossed the 80's despite having the same number of films, and thanks to having five films, it takes a comfortable second place in terms of total worldwide gross. TSWLM and MR come in at 7th and 8th best, which is fairly impressive. DAF and MR were the highest worldwide grossing films of their respective year, although DAF is the 8th lowest-grossing Bond film. MR has the distinction of being the last Bond film to top the worldwide gross charts of its respective year.


The 1980's

Total Worldwide Gross: $1662.8

Average Worldwide Gross Per Film: $332.56

Highest Grossing Film: For Your Eyes Only - $449.4 (15th overall)

Lowest Grossing Film: Licence to Kill - $250.9 (last overall)

From lowest to highest-grossing: LTK, AVTAK, TLD, OP, FYEO

Notes: Easily Bond's most disappointing decade in terms of gross. The highest-grossing film here, FYEO, doesn't even breach the top half of Bond films gross-wise. The lowest-grossing film of this decade, LTK, is also the lowest-grossing film in Bond history.


The 1990's

Total Worldwide Gross: $1421.2

Average Worldwide Gross Per Film: $473.733

Highest Grossing Film: GoldenEye - $518.5 (9th overall)

Lowest Grossing Film: The World Is Not Enough - $439.5 (7th last overall)

From lowest to highest-grossing: TWINE, TND, GE

Notes: Not too bad as a decade. For only three films, all under the same actor, it's impressive that the 90's outgrossed five-film decades like the 70's and 80's in terms of average film gross, proving that this was indeed Bond's transition into the modern blockbuster.


The 2000's

Total Worldwide Gross: $$1561.1

Average Worldwide Gross Per Film: $520.37

Highest Grossing Film: Casino Royale - $719.8 (5th overall)

Lowest Grossing Film: Die Another Day - $465.4 (12th overall)

From lowest to highest-grossing: DAD, QoS, CR

Notes: Three films like the 90's, except noticeably more average/total gross, meaning that Craig's films made considerably more money than Brosnan's. DAD also outgrossed TND and TWINE, but probably only due to falling on the 40th anniversary, and even then, it barely outgrossed TND. Very solid showing from only two films.


The 2010's

Total Worldwide Gross: $1663.3

Average Worldwide Gross Per Film: $831.65

Highest Grossing Film: Skyfall - $943.5 (1st overall)

Lowest Grossing Film: Spectre - 820.4 (4th overall)

From lowest to highest-grossing: SP, SF

Notes: By far the best decade in terms of average worldwide gross per film, but that's because we've only got two films here. Still, for two films, this is a very impressive result, especially since these two films alone outgrossed the three in the 90's and the three in the 2000's, but most importantly, these two films alone outgrossed all five films of the 1980's combined, albeit by a very slight margin. A very strong start for this decade, and that's unlikely to change now that Bond has reached more people across the globe than ever.



So, in ascending order of decade by total worldwide gross: 1990's, 2000's, 1980's, 2010's, 1970's, 1960's

In ascending order of decade by average worldwide gross per film: 1980's, 1970's, 1990's, 2000's, 1960's, 2010's

From this we can see that Connery and Craig are the biggest box office attractions. Brosnan follows suit, then it's Moore, followed by Lazenby, before Dalton comes in at last place.

As I said, I'm curious - what do you people think of these stats?