No Time to Die was delayed multiple times due to COVID-19, but it seems MGM and EON Productions made the right decision to wait until the worst of the pandemic passed. While it won't open in the U.S. until next Friday, Daniel Craig's final James Bond movie has started rolling out internationally, and is off to a great start.
The Hollywood Reporter reveals that after a solid $27.2 million haul on Friday for what looks like a 3-day $51.4 million total, No Time to Die is set to score a whopping $113 million international debut from 54 markets (it opened on Wednesday night in many countries).
It's worth noting this is also the first $100+ million debut of any movie that opened during COVID-19.
No Time to Die's most impressive feat, however, that it set opening day records in the UK on Thursday with $6.6 million. From there, the movie scored the country's third-highest Friday ($7.6 million) ever for October, and should ultimately open to $30 million after $14.2 million those first two days. As a result, it's set to top Skyfall, a movie that opened long before the pandemic!
This and Venom: Let There Be Carnage serve as proof that theater-exclusive releases are the best possible move for studios in this "pandemic era," so expect fewer day-and-date releases in 2022.
In our review of No Time to Die, we said: "No Time to Die is the perfect James Bond movie; action-packed, satisfying, and surprisingly heartfelt, Cary Joji Fukunaga proves an ideal fit for this franchise and helps make sure Daniel Craig, who is phenomenal here, ends his tenure as 007 in style."
Have you guys had the chance to watch No Time to Die on the big screen yet?