The James Bond saga in numbers: Sean Connery's golden touch
Sean Connery, every movie buff's favorite James Bond, is also the saga's number one cash cow, based on international box office numbers.
Among the six actors who officially played Agent 007 on the silver screen, Sean Connery proved the most surefire box-office draw: each of his six James Bond films, from Dr. No (1962) to Diamonds Are Forever (1971), grossed $729 million on average (adjusting for inflation).
Suprisingly, an Aussie follows the Scot in terms of box-office success. George Lazenby's only role as the tuxedo-clad agent was in the 1969 feature On Her Majesty's Secret Service, which raked in $666 million worldwide. Since being granted his MI6 licence in 2006, Daniel Craig has made a killing at the box office with the two James Bond films on his resume, Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008), grossing $663 worldwide on average.
Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan follow in his footsteps, with respective averages of $565 million and $525 million. Timothy Dalton was the least successful James Bond at the box office, with an average of only $342 million for The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989).
Sean Connery's films account for a third of the saga's total revenue
Adjusting for inflation, Sean Connery's James Bond films netted $4.4 billion. The Scottish actor really left his mark on the franchise, his six Bond flicks having pulled in 33% of the saga's total earnings (22 films since 1962). Roger Moore's seven 007 features grossed a worldwide total of $3.96 million, 30% of the saga's total earnings.
The third place in that category goes to Pierce Brosnan, who only grossed 16% of the saga's earnings. He's followed by Daniel Craig, whose films earned 10% of the total, which is twice as much as Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby (5% each).
'Thunderball' reigns unchallenged at the top
With $1.04 billion (adjusted for inflation), Thunderball (1965), starring Sean Connery, is the most lucrative film of the James Bond saga. Another Sean Connery ranks second: Goldfinger (1964), with earnings of $936 milion.
Roger Moore follows suit with Live and Let Die ($847 million). You have to go down all the way to sixth place to find a modern James Bond in this list: Casino Royale ($687 million).
James Bond box office figures | ||||
Worldwide | Worldwide | Release date | ||
Sean Connery | Dr. No | 59,567,035 | 437,172,277 | 1962 |
From Russia with Love | 78,900,000 | 598,953,913 | 1963 | |
Goldfinger | 124,900,000 | 935,945,923 | 1964 | |
Thunderball | 141,200,000 | 1 041,331,362 | 1965 | |
You Only Live Twice | 111,600,000 | 777,858,683 | 1967 | |
George Lazenby | On Her Majesty's Secret Service | 82,000,000 | 665,689,400 | 1969 |
Sean Connery | Diamonds Are Forever | 116,000,000 | 581,819,757 | 1971 |
Roger Moore | Live and Let Die | 161,800,000 | 847,084,858 | 1973 |
The Man with the Golden Gun | 97,600,000 | 459,944,939 | 1974 | |
The Spy Who Loved Me | 185,400,000 | 711,056,343 | 1977 | |
Moonraker | 210,300,000 | 673,422,834 | 1979 | |
For Your Eyes Only | 195,300,000 | 499,258,858 | 1981 | |
Octopussy | 187,500,000 | 437,520,882 | 1983 | |
A View to a Kill | 152,627,690 | 329,811,815 | 1985 | |
Timothy Dalton | The Living Daylights | 191,200,000 | 391,136,731 | 1987 |
Licence to Kill | 156,167,015 | 292,797,432 | 1989 | |
Pierce Brosnan | GoldenEye | 356,429,941 | 543,635,446 | 1995 |
Tomorrow Never Dies | 339,504,276 | 491,521,116 | 1997 | |
The World Is Not Enough | 361,730,660 | 504,659,794 | 1999 | |
Die Another Day | 431,942,139 | 558,128,381 | 2002 | |
Daniel Craig | Casino Royale | 596,365,000 | 687,522,806 | 2006 |
Quantum of Solace | 591,692,078 | 638,698,218 | 2008 | |
TOTAL | 4,929,725,834 | 13,104,971,768 | ||
Source for box-office figures, not adjusted for inflation: The Numbers
Figures adjusted for inflation are calculated based on estimates from the U.S. Department of Labor.
