“Venom: Let There Be Carnage” may be devouring the U.S. box office, but the world belongs to Bond. MGM/Universal’s “No Time to Die” finally arrived in 54 countries this weekend and grossed $119 million, the best launch for a film since the pandemic began without China included.
Of course, the biggest market for the film is James Bond’s homeland of the U.K., where the film has set a pandemic-era record with an estimated $34.8 million four-day opening from 772 locations, the country’s widest release ever.
It stands as the highest post-shutdown release in the country after just one weekend in theaters and ranks sixth on the all-time U.K. opening weekend charts.
In other territories, “No Time to Die” is setting pandemic era and Bond franchise highs in multiple countries, including a $5.8 million opening in Japan that would top “Skyfall” and “Spectre,” a pandemic-best $14.7 million opening in Germany and a $5.3 million opening in Denmark that includes the highest Saturday gross in the country’s history, topping 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.”
In all, “No Time to Die” set Bond opening weekend records in 24 countries, including Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Spain, South Africa and Ecuador. It also set pandemic-era records in 14 countries, including the U.K., Hong Kong, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Argentina. On the Imax side, the format contributed $6.8 million, combining with “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” and a trio of Chinese films released on National Day for an October record $30 million for Imax.
Next weekend will see “No Time to Die” open in Russia and France as well as in the U.S., where expectations for the Bond film will be even higher after “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” opened to a pandemic record $90 million this weekend. “No Time to Die” is also set for release in China on October 22 and Australia on November 11.