It seemed even James Bond couldn’t beat the global pandemic. But 18 months after it was planned for release, the latest 007 film No Time To Die has had its royal premiere in London.
UK-based cinema chain Odeon say they have already sold more than 175,000 tickets for the film, which opens in the UK on Thursday, while Cineworld reports they’ve received their highest pre-booking numbers since Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
Similar excitement is sure to follow before the planned Australian opening on November 11, if promised restrictions ease in time.
Helping to build hype for the action extravaganza is the fact trailers have been available for more than two years.
There’s also the fact this, his fifth outing as James Bond, is Daniel Craig’s last time playing the spy. He says it was, “incredibly important to cinema and to history, and the weight of that has been on my shoulders for a while”.
The question now is whether No Time To Die is enough to get cinema-goers around the globe comfortable enough to return to the movies in general, in numbers large enough to help the industry recover.
After all, the pandemic has seen fans grow more comfortable with having their cinema needs met at home through streaming, with many investing in home theatre set-ups.
“I’m really hoping that it does entice people back into into cinemas and they feel comfortable doing that,” says actress Naomie Harris, who plays Moneypenny.
