LONDON, Sept. 27 (Reuters) – After an 18-month delay, the James Bond film “No Time To Die” finally begins its theatrical release this week – a relief for its stars and theater operators.

Daniel Craig returns for a fifth final outing as a suave British secret agent, known for his love of fast cars and cool gadgets.

The film was originally scheduled to debut in April 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced theaters to close and impose restrictions on viewing numbers.

“The last 18 months have been a pretty terrible time for everyone,” Craig told Reuters. “What’s great is we’re here, we’ve gotten to this point and now we can put it in theaters and… it’s just gravy from now on.”

Costing around $ 200 million to produce, “No Time To Die,” Bond’s 25th film, has been delayed three times since the start of the pandemic.

Despite this, its producers stood firm to ensure its theatrical release.

“It was designed, filmed and produced to be in theaters, to be a cinematic experience,” producer Michael G. Wilson told the film’s official podcast. “So we’re very excited now that it’s finally going to be released, we all can’t wait to go.”

Bond films are one of Hollywood’s most valuable franchises, with the latest two, “Specter” in 2015 and “Skyfall” in 2012, totaling $ 880 million and over $ 1 billion, respectively. the world.

London-based cinema operator Odeon said on Monday that “No Time To Die” was going to “be the biggest opening in ODEON cinemas since summer 2019”, and it has sold more than 175,000 tickets.

British cinemas began to reopen in May, but with social distancing measures. As these have eased, admissions across the country have fallen from 3.5 million in May to 10.4 million in August, according to the UK Cinema Association.

“So we’re currently tracking something like 65-70% of what you might call normal admissions in late summer, early autumn,” UK Cinema managing director Phil Clapp told Reuters. Association.

“There is hope that Bond will bring these admissions back to at least the levels we are seeing in 2019 and hopefully beyond those,” he said, adding that more films to come. like “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and “West Side Story” were also prominent.

On Tuesday, Craig will direct co-stars Lashana Lynch, Lea Seydoux and Rami Malek at the film’s world premiere in London.

“I’m really excited that he’s finally coming out… I’m very happy that (we’ll have a) meeting with all the people who worked on the film, to be with them in person because I was afraid to do the whole thing. promotion virtually, ”Seydoux said.

“For Daniel too because it’s his last Bond, it’s nice to be all together.”

Reporting by Sarah Mills and Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Giles Elgood

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