No Time To Die has been approved by local censors to open in China on an unspecified date, Screen has confirmed.
The 25th instalment in the James Bond canon is scheduled to open in North America on October 8 after multiple delays due to Covid-19. It arrives in the UK on September 30, two days after the world premiere in London.
China’s National Day holiday on October 1 kicks off the Golden Week celebration reserved for local film releases, meaning Bond is likely to debut in the market some time after that.
The go-ahead is encouraging news for producers Eon given that China is traditionally a big market for Bond films: 007’s last outing Spectre in 2015 earned $83.5m in the territory, behind only the UK on $124.5m and North America on $200m. It was the fourth biggest market for 2012 release Skyfall on $59.3m behind North America, the UK and Germany
No Time To Die reportedly carries a $200m price-tag and will need every bit of help it can get in a global theatrical marketplace that is slowly hauling itself back up after a punishing 18 months during the pandemic.
Daniel Craig is popular in China as evidenced by the $28.1m success of Knives Out and makes his fifth and final appearance as the British superspy. Cary Joji Fukunaga directs a cast that includes Lea Seydoux, Rami Malek, Naomie Harris, Lashana Lynch, Ben Whishaw and Ana de Armas.
Universal Pictures handles international distribution on the film and MGM distributes in North America.
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