Over the weekend, news began to spread that MGM was shopping around the upcoming James Bond film, “No Time to Die,” to folks like Apple and Netflix as a potential streaming deal. Of course, the news came as potential deals died and it appears that a streaming future isn’t in the cards for Bond. But, days later, it’s becoming clear that a deal between MGM and a streaming partner might have only caused more trouble than previously thought, as the producers behind the Bond franchise were not so keen on the idea of skipping theaters.
According to a new report from THR, the deal between MGM and streaming partners for “No Time to Die” was complicated, expensive, and could have caused a major rift between the study and producers of the franchise, EON Productions. For those not familiar with how Bond films are made, all creative decisions are made by EON Productions, which is co-run by Barbara Broccoli, a traditionalist to the highest degree. EON owns half of the rights to Bond, with the other half being controlled by MGM. And that’s where things get interesting.
You see, when MGM went to Apple and Netflix (but apparently Apple is the only streamer really interested in paying a large sum of money), the studio didn’t mention the proposal to EON Productions. And as soon as EON heard that MGM was trying to work out a deal with Apple, Broccoli was reportedly unhappy with the news and would have put a kibosh on a deal anyway. Why would Broccoli do that? Well, the report claims that Broccoli wants to support theaters and sees the idea of a Bond film premiering on a streaming service as somehow tarnishing the franchise.
READ MORE: ‘Bond’ Producer Hasn’t Even Begun The Search For A New 007 But Knows It Won’t Be A Woman
Regardless, it appears that even if EON was onboard with the idea, a deal likely wouldn’t have happened. MGM was reportedly looking for a deal worth somewhere in the $600 million to $800 million range, considering all the marketing expenses, production costs, and expected revenue “No Time to Die” was supposed to earn with a worldwide theatrical run. However, Apple was only interested in maybe spending somewhere between $350 million to $400 million for a deal that would have made “No Time to Die” an exclusive Apple release for 12 months. Of course, those numbers are pretty far apart and so a deal wasn’t ever really that close.
So, as it stands, MGM and EON are still working together to release “No Time to Die” in April 2021. Of course, that means MGM will have to market the film for a third time to prepare audiences for the release, which only adds to the costs associated with the film. So, for MGM’s sake, let’s all hope that the film actually does hit theaters then.
Side note, if you’re a diehard fan and interested in throwing away money for no good reason, you can join one Bond fan’s desperate attempt to buy the rights to “No Time to Die” to release the film by Christmas time. As of this writing, the campaign has earned £15 of the £607,000,000 it’s hoping to pull together.
