The overall costs for Daniel Craig’s swansong as James Bond may prevent it from breaking even. Most would consider earnings of over $730 million a stunning success, but despite impressive ticket sales, No Time to Die could still stand to lose millions for MGM. Industry sources say the film may be as much as $100 million in the red.
However, the movie cost more than $250 million to produce, at least $100 million to promote and tens of millions more to postpone over 16 months. Insiders say No Time to Die needs to make closer to $900 million to break even, a feat that would have been realistic had a global health crisis not entirely upended the theater industry.
MGM has stated that the movie has broken even and even made money. A spokesperson said that “unnamed and uninformed sources suggesting the film will lose money are categorically unfounded and put more simply, not true.” They elaborated on the movie’s performance at the box office and PVOD.
The film has far exceeded our theatrical estimates in this timeframe, becoming the highest grossing Hollywood film in the international marketplace and passing F9 to become the highest grossing Hollywood film since the pandemic. With the PVOD release of the film already doing stellar home viewing business, all while continuing to hold well theatrically, No Time To Die will earn a profit for MGM, both as an individual film title and as part of MGM’s incredible library.
Despite the statement, the actual costs may be closer to what the unnamed insiders have claimed. MGM was negotiating with Apple and Netflix for a same-day streaming debut at one point, but the deal never panned out due to MGM wanting $600 million. With such a high asking price, it would seem the studio needed a higher amount of revenue to cover its costs and expected sales.