Bond waits for no one, except the cinema
Aston Martin DB Mark III? Here. Tuxedo? Present. One liners that will disarm the opponent just at the right time? Available in abundance. James Bond’s checklist is famous. There’s just one thing missing: the cinema.
Originally due to be released in April last year, the latest Bond instalment No Time to Die was pushed until November 2020, then April 2021. Now, rumours suggest the 25th Bond film’s release date may be pushed back again till November 2021.
To beat this delay, production company MGM considered following in the footsteps of The Secret Garden and Mulan by cutting out the cinematic middleman and sending Bond straight to a streaming platform. MGM, however, eventually opted to walk away from the lucrative deal to “preserve the theatrical experience for movie goers”.
Cinema has imploded during the pandemic. Blockbusters have been pulled left right and centre. Cineworld had to shut down 128 cinemas and cut over 5000 jobs. In the past, Bond has been known for sweeping in at the 11th hour to save cinema: Skyfall and Spectre respectively raked in $1.111 billion and $879.6 million for the box office.
But Bond needs cinema just as much as cinema needs him.
Bond has evolved, but the classic elements of the formula remain. Part of the appeal is the sense of occasion of being in the audience and getting to see his latest escapades in the cinema. The license to thrill is somewhat less appealing when a 65-foot-wide screen is swapped for the sitting room television, and instead of pin dropping silence, you have the kerfuffle of the outside world and irritating family members or housemates trying to predict the ending.
The franchise produces moments too big to be launched on television this is something worth preserving. As Bond himself declares in the No Time to Die trailer, “if we don’t do this, then there will be nothing left to save”.
It is more than a question of practicalities though. It’s the sense of exclusivity in the experience. With the lights faded and sound blaring, it feels as though it is just you and Bond off to save the world. Suddenly, the ticket prices and uncomfortable seats all feel worth it.
Bond’s fan base is fiercely loyal, and their loyalty is measured by catching each film ahead of the general public. Take the 45-year-old bond super-fan Luke Arnold who hit the headlines for his devotion to the franchise, attending every premier by himself, in a tuxedo. Need to catch him before the lights dim and his phones turned off? You’ll find yourself dialling 8 numbers followed by 007, as he paid for a personalised number to bring him closer to Bond. Arnold isn’t alone in his devotion and the Bond franchise risks losing the passion of the super-fans if the movie becomes available to the entire Netflix database overnight.
Britain’s best spy shouldn’t have to adapt; we should have to wait for him. The fans know this more than anyone, and according to superfan Duncan Eastwood, host of Spoiler Alert podcast, 007 fans are now in the “acceptance phase” of the delay. After all, it has been five years already since the last Bond film, what’s another year?
Mr Bond, we will be expecting you.