The new James Bond film is just over a month away from release – and the costs involved mean that 007 won’t be missing his appointment this time.
We covered a story last week which outlined the reported $900m that the oft-delayed next outing for 007, No Time To Die, would reportedly have to make to cover its delays, production costs, aborted marketing campaigns and crucially, the huge interest debts it has incurred whilst awaiting release. Whilst that report came from a respected oo7 website, now the Hollywood trade press is making similar claims with The Hollywood Reporter stating that MGM simply cannot afford to postpone the film’s release date any further than the end of September, its next scheduled release date.
With MGM not having a streaming site to offer the film on, as rivals such as Disney and Warner Bros do, there are few added benefits sending the film to a streaming platform that is not its own, apart from cash, an option that has been explored and rejected (Apple was reportedly looking at spending a nine figure sum last year on buying the film). EON Productions, who controls the direction of the franchise, would also resist that move anyway, rendering it exceedingly difficult for MGM.
Also. with the cost for keeping the negative on the shelf reportedly rising to $1m per month, it’s no surprise that MGM may have to stick with the upcoming release date, regardless of the situation cinemas find themselves in. Speculation is also mounting that the film simply may not be able to recoup its profits, and it’s worth considering how deeply backend deals for Daniel Craig and the film’s producers may also affect the film’s gross.
Whilst it’s still all speculation at the moment, it’s looking increasingly likely that September 30th will – finally! – be the film’s release date. If MGM does end up taking a huge financial hit on the film, its looming takeover by Amazon may just write the whole thing off anyway, as however bad the loss may be, it’s likely just a drop in the ocean for the colossal company purchasing the studio. We’ll bring you more as we hear it. But it does look as though James Bond will finally, finally return…
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