“No Time to Die”, the latest James Bond film, has run to the rescue of the Odeon cinema chain, owned by AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE:AMC) Inc.
The cinema chain, once the dominant presence in the sector in the UK but now running in second place to Cineworld Group PLC (LSE:CINE), said it had sold more than one million tickets for what is actor Daniel Craig’s final outing as the British secret agent who is “licensed to kill”.
The theatrical release of “No Time to Die” has been postponed three times and was originally scheduled to hit cinema screens in April 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic, a crisis not even James Bond could avert, put paid to the initial release plans, since when the distributors have been waiting for the right moment to release the eagerly-awaited latest instalment in the long-running film series.
According to Universal Pictures, the film raked in US$121mln worldwide over its opening weekend.
No Time to Die brings embattled #cinemas to life
-Highest attendance since Star Wars in 2019
-The first cinema trip for ~50% of ticketholders
-Intl. takings of $121mn on opening wkend
-#Cineworld: performances are selling out pic.twitter.com/nCgey5meNJ
— Victoria Scholar (@VictoriaS_ii) October 8, 2021