'No Time to Die' grosses 56 million dollars in North America

After over 18 months of pandemic delays, 'No Time to Die' opened on target. The final James Bond film of the Daniel Craig era grossed 56 million dollars from 4,407 North American theaters, according to studio estimates on October 10, to easily take the first-place spot.

It did not break any pandemic or 007 records, but it did not fall significantly short either and is the fourth-best opening in the 25-film series. James Bond is not 'Marvel' when it comes to opening weekends. Bond has always had an older audience which is typically less inclined to rush out for the first weekend. The best Bond opening ever did not even crack 100 million dollars. It was 88.4 million dollars for 'Skyfall' which debuted in 2012.

"It has been a long time coming to get this movie on the big screen," said Erik Lomis, the head of distribution for 'United Artists Releasing'.

He added, "It is right where we thought it would be and right where tracking predicted it would be."

Cary Joji Fukunaga directed this instalment, which co-stars Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Ana de Armas, Lashana Lynch and Rami Malek as the antagonist. Both critics and audiences responded positively (84 percent on 'Rotten Tomatoes' and an A- on 'CinemaScore'). According to exit data, audiences were heavily male (64 percent) and over 35 (57 percent).

"I'm just relieved that it is in the cinemas and people are getting a chance to see it," Craig said recently from the 'Charlotte Motor Speedway'.

He added, "I am incredibly proud of it, as I am of all the movies, but I was just desperate for people to go and see this in a big group, like coming here today. It is what we do. We are a social species, so we need to get together."

Craig was the honorary starter at the NASCAR playoff race where he waved the green flag.

Unlike many films released during the pandemic, a streaming or hybrid release was never even a consideration for 'No Time to Die'. In addition to being the longest Bond film ever at two hours and 43 minutes, it was also an expensive one with a reported production budget of around 250 million dollars. And that does not include marketing costs, which reportedly exceeded 100 million dollars.