The rumor on the street says there is a possibility that the new James Bond movie ‘No Time to Die’ will be acquired by streaming services for $600M due to the COVID situation when theaters remain closed. Is it really going to happen? Unfortunately, be prepared for a ‘YES’.

The big canvas vs streaming

Bloomberg has reported about a rumor that MGM offered ‘No Time to Die’ to streamers Netflix, Apple, and Amazon for a proposed one year license of $600 million. The film’s release has been postponed multiple times. The film was originally scheduled for release in April 2020, however, due to concerns related to the coronavirus outbreak, its release was delayed again and again resulted in the “final” date which is April 2021 in order to preserve the theatrical experience for moviegoers. Indeed, this latest James Bond movie which directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and filmed by cinematographer Linus Sandgren was aimed to be screened on the huge canvas (make sure to read our article in regard: ARRIFLEX 765: The Camera Behind “No Time To Die”). However, this huge delay has to be disappointing worldwide audiences which can be devided into two segments: Those who want to see it now (even on streaming), and those who can wait to see it in its whole big-screen glory. Nevertheless, the studios are absorbing heavy losses on every theatrical delay.

“The film is not for sale”

“We do not comment on rumors. The film is not for sale. The film’s release has been postponed until April 2021 in order to preserve the theatrical experience for moviegoers,” an MGM spokesperson told Variety. Moreover, moving “No Time to Die” to a streaming service poses some logistical challenges. The film costs more than $250 million to produce and has lined up several promotional partnerships (Land Rover, Omega and Heineken and etc). Those companies may have been expecting the film to hit theaters and might not be thrilled with the streaming option. Furthermore, ‘No Time To Die’ has the opportunity to generate a billion-dollar global gross in a healthy theatrical market. It is the 25th Bond film, and likely the last one to star Daniel Craig. The streaming services will not be as efficient regarding revenue. That’s the reason for MGM’s high price tag to sell the film. Anyway, if we’ll take Nolan’s Tenet as a reference, we get to the conclusion that maybe the stream option is not the worst, under those unprecedented circumstances. 

“Tenet was not a home-run”

In July, AT&T CEO John Stankey told CNBC that Tenet was engineered for theaters, and he doesn’t see any other option than releasing the movie worldwide:” I don’t know if I can predict when theaters goers are going to return… and one of the problems reopening theaters if you think about it is that you can’t go on and release something like Tenet geographically. When it releases in a theater it pretty much needs to be released nationwide…My point of Tenet ..it’s a movie..an experience that should be seen in theaters and was engineered to be that way. Well, we all know the final outcome. Tenet was released in theaters under COVID restrictions, which led to poor results. Personally, I didn’t see it because it hasn’t reached cinemas in Israel. “Tenet was not a home-run,” said Stankey in the earnings conference call, but he also said that they are happy that they chose that path of limited theatrical screening.

Tenet was not a home-run.

AT&T CEO John Stankey

So what’s next?

It depends. In spite of the rumor to be denied regarding ‘No Time to Die’ will be sold to streaming services, we might expect this rumor to become reality. It all depends on defeating COVID (vaccine for instance). MGM could not stand another postpone. That means, if there is no vaccine on the horizon, then you can buy your popcorn and see the last James Bond in your living room.