James Bond, a character created by novelist Ian Fleming in 1953, is a British secret agent working for MI6 under the codename 007.
He has been portrayed by actors Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig in 27 productions.
All but two films were made by Eon Productions, which now holds the adaptation rights to all of Fleming’s Bond novels.
In 1961, producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman purchased the filming rights to Fleming’s novels. They founded Eon Productions and, with financial backing by United Artists, produced Dr. No, directed by Terence Young and starring Connery as Bond.
After its release in 1962, Broccoli and Saltzman created the holding company Danjaq to ensure future productions in the Bond film series.
The series currently has 25 films, with the most recent, No Time to Die, released in October 2021.
With combined gross of over $7 billion to date, it is the sixth-highest-grossing film series. Accounting for inflation, it has earned over $14 billion at current prices.
Oscar Awards: 5
The films have won five Oscar Awards:
Sound Effects (now Sound Editing) in Goldfinger (at the 37th Awards);
John Stears for Visual Effects in Thunderball (at the 38th Awards)
Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers for Sound Editing; Adele and Paul Epworth for Original Song in Skyfall (at the 85th Awards)
Sam Smith and Jimmy Napes for Original Song in Spectre (at the 88th Awards).
Several tunes have been nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar including Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die.” Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does It Better,” and Sheena Easton’s “For Your Eyes Only.”
In 1982 Albert R. Broccoli received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.
When Broccoli and Saltzman bought the rights to existing and future Fleming titles, the deal did not include Casino Royale, which had been sold to producer Gregory Ratoff for TV version in 1954. After Ratoff’s death, the rights passed to Charles K. Feldman, who produced the Bond spoof Casino Royale in 1967.
A legal case ensured that the rights to the novel Thunderball were held by Kevin McClory as he, Fleming and scriptwriter Jack Whittingham had written a film script on which the novel was based.[1] Although Eon Productions and McClory joined forces to produce Thunderball, McClory still retained the rights to the story and adapted Thunderball into 1983’s Never Say Never Again.
Distribution rights to both films are currently held by MGM, which releases Eon’s regular series.
Eon Films:
Dr. No (1962)
Dr. No (1962)–Bond 1, Starring Connery in Iconic Role of Agent 007 | Emanuel Levy
www.emanuellevy.com/review/dr-no-first-james-bond/
From Russia With Love (1963):
www.emanuellevy.com/review/from-russia-with-love-1963/
Goldfinger (1964):
Our review: www.emanuellevy.com/review/goldfinger-6/
Thunderball (1965)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Live and Let Die (1973)
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Moonraker (1979)
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Octopussy (1983)
A View to a Kill (1985)
The Living Daylights (1987)
Licence to Kill (1989)
GoldenEye (1995)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Die Another Day (2002)
Casino Royale (2006)
Quantum of Solace (2008)
Skyfall (2012)
Spectre (2015)
No Time to Die (2021)
Non-Eon films
Casino Royale (1967)
Never Say Never Again (1983)
Title Year Bond actor Director Box office (millions)[14] Budget (millions)[14] Ref(s)
Actual $ Adjusted 2005 $ Actual $ Adjusted 2005 $
Dr. No 1962 Sean Connery, Terence Young, 59.5; 448.8
From Russia with Love 1963 Sean Connery Terence Young 78.9 543.8
Goldfinger 1964 Sean Connery Guy Hamilton 124.9 820.4
Thunderball 1965 Sean Connery Terence Young 141.2 848.1
You Only Live Twice 1967 Sean Connery Lewis Gilbert 111.6 514.2
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service 1969 George Lazenby Peter R. Hunt 64.6 291.5
Diamonds Are Forever 1971 Sean Connery Guy Hamilton 116.0 442.5
Live and Let Die 1973 Roger Moore Guy Hamilton 126.4 460.
The Man with the Golden Gun 1974 Roger Moore Guy Hamilton 97.6 334.0
The Spy Who Loved Me 1977 Roger Moore Lewis Gilbert 185.4 533.0
Moonraker 1979 Roger Moore Lewis Gilbert 210.3 535.0
For Your Eyes Only 1981 Roger Moore John Glen 194.9 449.4
Octopussy 1983 Roger Moore John Glen 183.7 373.8
A View to a Kill 1985 Roger Moore John Glen 152.4 275.2
The Living Daylights 1987 Timothy Dalton John Glen 191.2 313.5
Licence to Kill 1989 Timothy Dalton John Glen 156.2 250.9
GoldenEye 1995 Pierce Brosnan Martin Campbell 352.0 518.5
Tomorrow Never Dies 1997 Pierce Brosnan Roger Spottiswoode 333.0 463.2
The World Is Not Enough 1999 Pierce Brosnan Michael Apted 361.8 439.5
Die Another Day 2002 Pierce Brosnan Lee Tamahori 432.0 465.4
Casino Royale 2006 Daniel Craig Martin Campbell 594.2 581.5
Quantum of Solace 2008 Daniel Craig Marc Forster 586.1 514.2
Skyfall 2012 Daniel Craig Sam Mendes 1108.6 943.5
Spectre 2015 Daniel Craig Sam Mendes 880.7 725.5
No Time to Die 2021 Daniel Craig Cary Joji Fukunaga TBD TBD
Total of Eon-produced films 6,829.1 12,085.6
Prior to the release of Skyfall in 2012, the James Bond series had grossed approximately $12.5 billion at 2011 prices.
After factoring in earnings of almost $2 billion from Skyfall and Spectre, the series has earned $14 billion adjusted for inflation.
The official production budget for Spectre has been debated. Estimates range from $245–250 to as high as $300–350 million.
