The bigger the movie, the bigger the screen, please. A recipe that will soon be history?
Daniel Craig’s new and final Bond film was originally supposed to hit theaters in November 2019. Almost a year later, there is still no trace of Agent Double Zero in theaters.
“There is no time to die” (the title of the twenty-fifth edition of the spy series) has long been a production nightmare. Which could now have a completely different outcome, because the new James Bond may not even hit theaters!
007 with scratches – even before Corona, the last Craig Bond had to deal with all kinds of problemsPhoto: Nicola Dove / 2020 DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM.
“There is no time to die” has already registered a total of four postponements and a change of director, especially due to the crisis of the Crown, 007 had to be absent this year and, according to the last state, should be in Germany on 31 March 2021 and April 2 at the international Casas de cine.
If anything, it is rumored in Hollywood that streaming services want Bond for themselves. In particular, Netflix and Apple (Apple TV +) will hold a tender for the new 007, reports the American news magazine. “Bloomberg”.
James Bond on Netflix: What’s up?
No one wants to comment on the allegations yet, not Netflix or the Bond bosses. The established film studio “Metro Goldwyn Mayer” (short: MGM), which currently owns the distribution rights to the Bond series, reveals to the industry magazine “Variety”: “We do not comment on rumors. The movie is not for sale. “
Definitely, MGM wants to present its biggest movie in recent years as a big screen experience. A blockbuster like a new Bond belongs exactly there, of course.
The predecessor “Skyfall” eventually threw more than US $ 1 billion into the coffers. Such a benefit would be unthinkable in the living room. But it’s also a fact: these days, great movies don’t work in the cinema anymore.
Most movie theaters in Germany have reopened, but only a fraction of regular viewers are allowed in. In the United States and the United Kingdom, two of the world’s largest film markets, the situation is even more dramatic.
There, the giant cinema chain “Cineworld” temporarily took down all the branches, in response to the latest Bond change.
Bond 25 should finally start in November, because nothing comes out, the “Cineworld” chain had to close its cinemas for the time beingPhoto: Gareth Fuller / dpa
“AMC”, the world’s largest cinema chain, is also threatened with bankruptcy due to the crown crisis. In Germany, the company operates the well-known UCI houses.
The fact is, theaters can barely make any money at the moment, because the big movies have been put off until next year or even longer (more recently also “Dune” and “The Batman”).
It’s a vicious cycle, because the “Tenet” case made it clear that expensive box office hits are degenerating into a lost business these days in the movies. Warner’s mega-movie, released in August, grossed about $ 334 million worldwide.
That would be too little for James Bond, after all “No Time to Die” alone gobbled up more than 250 million production costs, more than any 007 before.
The latest postponements are said to have brought the financially distressed traditional studio with the famous lion head another loss of up to $ 50 million. For MGM, Bond 25 is both a troublesome child and a saving straw.
Bonanza Bond
The previous 24 Bond films grossed nearly $ 7 billion. Adjusted for inflation, that’s well over $ 16 billion for strips since 1962.
For the current film, the producers hoped to break the 2012 record for “Skyfall” (1.1 billion). Even with a huge streaming business and exploitation of cinema, that should now be utopian.
That’s what Netflix and Apple would have to pay for 007
The competition has already proven it. Disney did not show its mega-production “Mulan” in theaters, but moved the expensive project entirely to its own Disney + streaming service, while other studios like Paramount sold their titles (“The Chicago 7 Trial”) to Netflix. . Economically understandable.
So in the end, MGM has no choice but to give in? According to experts, the movie factory should at least consider this option. The required purchase price is said to be up to US $ 600 million. A sum that is astronomical even for giants like Netflix or Apple, after all, it is only a single Bond movie.
The alternative: Instead of just this one, you could buy the entire studio. Rumors circulated earlier this year that Netflix and Apple were in one Acquisition of “Metro Goldwyn Mayer” Interested.
However, to obtain the license to kill, they have the last word: Bond bosses, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who run the 007 series with their company “Eon.”
Broccoli, 007 boss, on “Variety” in January: “Our fans finally determine how they want to consume their entertainment. I don’t think we can rule out anything. Because it is the audience that makes these decisions. And not us. “
As the original Bond Sean Connery once said: “Never say never.”
007 going to be a movie killer? That’s what the experts say
Christine Berg, Executive Director of the HDF Kino eV Industry Association, on BILD: “That’s a rumor. Of course, a single movie cannot save the industry. But if a movie like Bond doesn’t even hit theaters, it will be the ruin for many houses. “
“Constantin Film” managing director Torsten Koch to BILD: “If films like James Bond are no longer made there, our film culture will be threatened. The cinema is and will continue to be the most beautiful place to watch movies ”. ⇥ (af, sk, ms)
Photo: Nicola Dove / 2020 DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM.
Photo: Gareth Fuller / dpa
Photo: Nicola Dove © 2019 DANJAQ, LLC 