The pandemic has demolished the movie release dates schedule, leaving the biggest Hollywood blockbusters in limbo. Many studios considered putting their movies on streaming – and some have done exactly that, such a Disney with Mulan – but one flick you will be seeing in cinemas is No Time To Die.
Deadline reports that the studio behind James Bond, MGM, held meetings with Netflix, Apple, and Amazon with the hope of exploring potential streaming options. A year-long contract was reportedly being shopped around for $600 million, with the possibilities of PVOD also spoken about. However, none of the streamers were willing to put up over half of that large sum, and producer Barbara Broccoli ended up nixing the idea completely.
Why such a huge price for No Time To Die? Both Spectre and Skyfall made over $1 billion at the box office upon release, while the latest 007 adventure has a reported budget of $250 million. That doesn't include publicity, which MGM has already spent a considerable amount on, meaning the $600 million number would still make a profit, but not as much as a potential cinema release would.
The article notes that many of the big studios have held discussions regarding putting their movies onto streaming sites, yet few of those deals have been reported on. Movies that have been moved to streaming include Soul on Disney Plus, Greyhound on Apple TV Plus, and Coming to America 2 on Amazon Prime.
No Time To Die currently front the new issue of Total Film, which features an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming James Bond movie. Buy a copy here – or subscribe to the mag and never miss an issue again. Bond 25 reaches cinemas April 2020.
