Special Report
This Is the Highest Grossing James Bond Film of All Time
Published:
The new James Bond film, “No Time To Die” has just been released. It is the 25th in a series about one of the most storied figures in movie history. This will be the last movie with Daniel Craig as the British Secret Service agent. The movie brought in $119 million internationally in its first weekend. That means it is likely to become the highest-grossing movie in the series.
To find the highest grossing Bond film so far, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on worldwide box office from film industry site The Numbers. Films were ranked based on total lifetime worldwide box office sales — unadjusted for inflation. We also calculated total gross adjusted for inflation. Topping both rankings, the highest grossing James Bond film is “Skyfall” released in 2012.
Bond was created by author Ian Fleming in 1953. By the time Fleming died in 1964, three Bond films had been released — “Dr. No” in 1962, “From Russia with Love” in 1963, and “Goldfinger” in 1964. Before Craig, the most well-known actor to portray 007 was Sean Connery, who played Bond in the first five films, and then the seventh. This is every James Bond movie ranked worst to best.
The Numbers, puts total Bond movie ticket sales worldwide at $7.2 billion. As a franchise, it ranks behind only the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with worldwide movie ticket sales at $23.3 billion, and Star Wars with sales at $10.3 billion. These are the highest grossing movies in the Marvel Universe.
Since Craig will be replaced soon (the announcement of new Bond actors is always a huge public relations event), the franchise almost certainly will continue for decades.
CNBC also released a list of the Bond movies ranked by box office total sales based on Comscore data. The list was not adjusted for inflation. As CNBC notes, when the first Bond movie was released in 1962, a ticket cost 70 cents, adding, “Nearly 60 years later, the average ticket price is around $9.”
The film at the top of the list is “Skyfall” released in 2012. It grossed $1.11 billion worldwide. Just behind it is “Spectre” released in 2015 with a gross of $879.5 million. The film in the series that brought in the least was “Casino Royale,” the first installment released in 1967.
Click here to see the highest grossing James Bond films of all time
Click here to see our full methodology
26. Casino Royale (1967)
> Worldwide box office: $41.7 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $313.4 million
> IMDb rating: 5.1/10 (28,742 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 26% (39 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: David Niven
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25. Dr. No (1962)
> Worldwide box office: $59.6 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $642.8 million
> IMDb rating: 7.2/10 (156,015 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 95% (59 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Sean Connery
24. From Russia with Love (1963)
> Worldwide box office: $78.9 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $840.4 million
> IMDb rating: 7.4/10 (125,534 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 95% (60 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Sean Connery
23. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
> Worldwide box office: $82.0 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $529.0 million
> IMDb rating: 6.7/10 (85,212 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 81% (53 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: George Lazenby
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22. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
> Worldwide box office: $97.6 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $473.0 million
> IMDb rating: 6.7/10 (99,825 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 40% (50 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Roger Moore
21. You Only Live Twice (1967)
> Worldwide box office: $111.6 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $837.9 million
> IMDb rating: 6.9/10 (102,993 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 73% (51 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Sean Connery
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20. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
> Worldwide box office: $116.0 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $644.0 million
> IMDb rating: 6.6/10 (100,460 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 63% (49 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Sean Connery
19. Goldfinger (1964)
> Worldwide box office: $124.9 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $937.8 million
> IMDb rating: 7.7/10 (176,275 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 99% (68 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Sean Connery
18. Thunderball (1965)
> Worldwide box office: $141.2 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $1.1 billion
> IMDb rating: 7.0/10 (111,293 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 86% (51 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Sean Connery
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17. A View to a Kill (1985)
> Worldwide box office: $152.6 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $393.8 million
> IMDb rating: 6.3/10 (92,519 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 38% (60 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Roger Moore
16. License to Kill (1989)
> Worldwide box office: $156.2 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $358.5 million
> IMDb rating: 6.6/10 (98,737 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 78% (58 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Timothy Dalton
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15. Never Say Never Again (1983)
> Worldwide box office: $160.0 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $465.3 million
> IMDb rating: 6.2/10 (64,588 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 69% (52 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Sean Connery
14. Live and Let Die (1973)
> Worldwide box office: $161.8 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $870.1 million
> IMDb rating: 6.8/10 (101,372 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 67% (51 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Roger Moore
13. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
> Worldwide box office: $185.4 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $761.6 million
> IMDb rating: 7.1/10 (102,721 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 80% (55 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Roger Moore
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12. Octopussy (1983)
> Worldwide box office: $187.5 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $545.2 million
> IMDb rating: 6.5/10 (100,565 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 42% (48 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Roger Moore
11. The Living Daylights (1987)
> Worldwide box office: $191.2 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $447.9 million
> IMDb rating: 6.7/10 (92,941 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 75% (55 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Timothy Dalton
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10. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
> Worldwide box office: $195.3 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $643.5 million
> IMDb rating: 6.7/10 (95,986 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 73% (51 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Roger Moore
9. Moonraker (1979)
> Worldwide box office: $210.3 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $779.9 million
> IMDb rating: 6.3/10 (95,177 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 60% (52 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Roger Moore
8. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
> Worldwide box office: $339.5 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $677.5 million
> IMDb rating: 6.5/10 (186,653 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 57% (88 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Pierce Brosnan
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7. GoldenEye (1995)
> Worldwide box office: $356.4 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $750.6 million
> IMDb rating: 7.2/10 (245,610 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 78% (79 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Pierce Brosnan
6. The World Is Not Enough (1999)
> Worldwide box office: $361.7 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $654.8 million
> IMDb rating: 6.4/10 (193,407 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 52% (143 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Pierce Brosnan
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5. Die Another Day (2002)
> Worldwide box office: $431.9 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $682.2 million
> IMDb rating: 6.1/10 (210,865 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 56% (221 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Pierce Brosnan
4. Quantum of Solace (2008)
> Worldwide box office: $591.7 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $754.9 million
> IMDb rating: 6.6/10 (417,155 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 64% (296 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Daniel Craig
3. Casino Royale (2006)
> Worldwide box office: $594.4 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $831.3 million
> IMDb rating: 8.0/10 (601,654 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 94% (259 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Daniel Craig
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2. Spectre (2015)
> Worldwide box office: $879.5 million
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $955.7 million
> IMDb rating: 6.8/10 (397,895 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 63% (363 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Daniel Craig
1. Skyfall (2012)
> Worldwide box office: $1.1 billion
> Worldwide box office (adjusted for inflation): $1.3 billion
> IMDb rating: 7.7/10 (648,708 votes)
> Tomatometer score: 92% (381 critic reviews)
> Bond actor: Daniel Craig
Methodology
To determine the highest grossing James Bond films of all time, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on worldwide box office from film industry site The Numbers. James Bond films are ranked based on total lifetime worldwide box office sales, unadjusted for inflation.
Data on average ticket price used to calculate inflation-adjusted box office figures came from the National Association of Theatre Owners and were imputed for some years using the consumer price index for all urban consumers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Data on IMDb audience score and Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score were collected in October 2021.
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