'Skyfall' is #2 most successful Bond film ever, no matter how you slice it

17-Dec-2012 • Skyfall

A lot of older James Bond fans who hanker for the days of 'Bond Fever' in the mid 1960's have been left finding narrower and narrower arguments to claim that Daniel Craig's "Skyfall" is not as big a success story as 007 was at the peak of the Sean Connery era. Like butter spread across too much toast, those arguments are getting incredibly thin.

Taking inflation in to account, "Skyfall" is now the #2 James Bond film of all time at the worldwide box-office. Yes, there are more countries open to a 007 movie now than there was 45 years ago, but back then competition for entertainment dollars is almost inconsequential compared to how fractured and intense the market is today. The older films also had the benefit of increased repeat attendance due to multiple re-releases and double-feature events as the movies did not air on television and the home video market did not exist.

James Bond Movies Adjusted For Inflation
1. $1,037,291,060.32 - Thunderball
2. $951,066,000.00 - Skyfall (as of Dec 17th 2012)
3. $932,346,267.74 - Goldfinger
4. $843,280,463.96 - Live And Let Die
5. $773,204,227.54 - You Only Live Twice
6. $707,967,950.50 - The Spy Who Loved Me
7. $687,348,781.40 - Casino Royale
8. $670,341,133.13 - Moonraker
9. $662,795,358.02 - Diamonds Are Forever
10. $629,928,504.77 - Quantum Of Solace

France actually counts tickets sold rather than just the money taken, so it is a far better indicator of popularity:

French Cinema Attendances
1. Goldfinger â 6 675 000 entrÃ©es
2. Skyfall â 6 352 842 entrÃ©es
3. Thunderball â 5 735 000 entrÃ©es
4. From Russia with love - 5 633 000 entrÃ©es
5. Dr. No - 4 773 000 entrÃ©es

"Skyfall" still has some more gas in the tank through the holiday season and its release in China is still to come in 2013. $1b is a certainty.

Thanks to `Samuel002` & `maxcraig` for the alert.