October 2022 was a great month for the James Bond franchisee. It’s been a year since Daniel Craig’s last appearance as 007, No time to die, was released in theaters. Prime Video recently made all Bond movies available to stream on their platform following their purchase from MGM, and the movie franchise is celebrating its 60th anniversary. While there’s no news about the next actor to play James Bond, there’s still plenty to celebrate.
Whoever then steps into the role of James Bond will have to fill some big shoes, as some of the most respected actors who played the spy with a license to kill have all left their mark on the character. In a 60-year series with six different actors playing James Bond, everyone has their favorite. The series has also certainly had its ups and downs with critics and at the box office, meaning whoever takes on James Bond next will definitely have plenty of competition from its predecessors, as well as a chance to make a name for themselves in the franchise’s history. . .
With 25 films in the series and multiple James Bond actors, these are the highest-grossing Bond films of any of the actors who played James Bond, based on global gross inflation adjusted. David Niven will not be included for the more satirical, non-canon version of Casino royale.
Sean Connery – Thunderball
When it comes to James Bond, Sean Connery has cast a huge shadow over each subsequent version of the character. His James Bond entries launched the movie franchise and laid the foundation for the series, creating so much goodwill that the franchise remained in good favor with audiences even years after it left. Of the six times Connery Bond has starred in the official Eon productions, the highest-grossing entry was in 1965 Thunderball.
Riding high on the success of Goldfinger, Thunderball is the fourth Bond film and saw him take on the evil organization SPECTER and his nemesis Blofeld. Adjusted for inflation, Thunderball grossed $1.04 billion dollars, which would make it the second highest-grossing Bond film ever.
George Lazenby- About Her Majesty’s Secret Service
George Lazenby only appeared in one James Bond film, 1971’s About Her Majesty’s Secret Service so that obviously makes it his highest-grossing Bond film. To Her Majesty’s Secret Service grossed $64 million at the time of release, making it the second-lowest grossing in the franchise, unadjusted for inflation, above only the first film dr. no. Adjusted for inflation, the box office stands at about $291 million, which, while respectable, was clear that the public wasn’t going in this new direction for Bond.
However, the film has grown in appreciation among fans and critics and is now regarded as one of the best. Lazenby served as Bond’s buffer, not only allowing Connery to return one more time, but probably opening the public to the idea that Roger Moore was taking over a few years later.
Roger Moore- Live and let die
Live and let die marked the first time Roger Moore appeared as James Bond. Although not adjusted for inflation, the winner would be 1979 moonrakerwhich brought in $210 million against Live and let die $124 million worldwide, adjusted for inflation Live and let die grossed $825 million, just beat Moonraker’s Adjusted $655 million. It showed that audiences were curious to see how a new actor would do as James Bond, and after Lazenby’s one-off approach and another appearance from Connery, the audience seemed more open to the idea.
Timothy Dalton- The Living Daylights
The underrated Timothy Dalton was only allowed to appear in two 007 films, and like Roger Moore, it is his debut film as Bond, his highest-grossing entry. years ’87 The Living Daylights grossed $381 million, adjusted for inflation worldwide, making it the third lowest grossing in the series, just beating Roger Moore’s last Bond film, 1985’s A look at a murder, and Dalton’s next entry, 1989’s Permission to kill.
This sadly makes Dalton the lowest-grossing Bond star with more than one film, but the three films in a row showed that the James Bond series really struggled in the 1980s. The franchise was in dire need of a reinvention and a hiatus, which it got when Brosnan took on the role in 1995. Golden Eye.
Pierce Brosnan – Die another day
MGM
It’s shocking to see that Pierce Brosnan’s highest-grossing James Bond film isn’t Golden Eyebut in fact it is actually Die another day, which is considered a vastly inferior film. Despite being the film that killed the original Bond continuity and forced the filmmakers to relaunch the series just four years later, Die another day still made a lot of money, about $543 million adjusted for inflation.
Die another day is a great example of a movie being a blockbuster, but the producers knew the cultural response was bad and if they didn’t adapt it would hurt the franchise in the long run, so the filmmakers decided to give the Bond movie series reboot and put it in a straw, more grounded affair with 2006’s Casino royalestarring Daniel Craig.
Daniel Craig – skyfall
Daniel Craig’s third appearance as Bond, skyfall felt like a miracle movie. Strong debut in 2006 Casino royalethe direct follow-up of the franchise Quantum of Solace was less warmly received. This negative reaction, combined with bankruptcy issues involving MGM, led to the third Daniel Craig Bond film being delayed several times. The film was finally given a 2012 release date, which felt like a cosmic fate, as that meant the film would arrive on the 50th anniversary of the James Bond film franchise.
Marketing played a part in this, promoting it as Bond’s 50th anniversary, with even Daniel Craig appearing alongside Queen Elizabeth in a promotional ad for the Olympics held in England that year. 2012 was made for Bond, and it paid off. skyfall grossed $304 million at the domestic box office, becoming the first film in the franchise to exceed $1 billion worldwide, unadjusted for inflation, with an adjusted inflation rate of $1.18 billion, making it the highest-grossing James Bond film of all time. times.
skyfall also received some of the best reviews in franchise history, winning two Academy Awards, including Best Original Song for Adele’s “Skyfall,” which dominated the charts that year. skyfall showed that James Bond still had it in him even after 50 years, and the public is now looking forward to what’s next for the most iconic super spy.