Audiences in the United Kingdom always tend to get the chance to see the latest James Bond blockbuster slightly ahead of their counterparts in the United States and Canada, something that’s remained true of No Time to Die, even though the franchise’s 25th installment is one of the pandemic’s longest-delayed movies, having initially been scheduled for April 2020.
Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007 hits theaters in the U.K. next Thursday, a full eight days before audiences across the pond, and early projections have the latest globetrotting espionage blockbuster matching Avengers: Endgame in terms of ticket pre-sales, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
The conclusion to the Infinity Saga opened to $56 million in the U.K. and ended up earning $115 million, which seems like a very tall if not nigh-on impossible order for No Time to Die. However, Skyfall and Spectre earned $161 million and $124 million on home shores during their respective theatrical runs, and with very little competition from other titles, Bond is poised to absolutely dominate.
Of course, No Time to Die isn’t going to match those numbers given the restrictions still in place, but it’ll comfortably be the U.K.’s biggest hit since the beginning of last year. It’s more of a nationwide event than a simple movie release for the British public, which should propel the leading man’s swansong to commercial heights the local industry hasn’t seen in a long time.