Timeline James Bond — The Films

James Bond — The Films 28

• 1953 Ian Fleming publishes Casino Royale Ian Fleming publishes his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, introducing the world to Agent 007 of the British Secret Service. Fleming based Bond partly on himself and wartime intelligence colleagues. The book sells out its first print run of 4,750 copies within a month.
• 1961 Eon Productions acquires Bond film rights Producers Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman form Eon Productions and acquire the rights to the Bond novels from Ian Fleming for approximately $50,000. The partnership launches the most financially successful film franchise in cinema history.
• 1962 Dr. No — Sean Connery The first James Bond film opens in London. Connery is sent to Jamaica to investigate the murder of an MI6 agent and uncover the plans of the reclusive Dr. Julius No. Ursula Andress emerges from the sea in an iconic white bikini. The film establishes the franchise's template: exotic locations, a charismatic villain and a theme song that still opens every Bond film. Budget: $1.1 million. Box office: $59.6 million.
• 1963 From Russia with Love — Sean Connery Bond travels to Istanbul to obtain a Soviet decoding device, pursued by SPECTRE assassin Red Grant and the deadly Rosa Klebb. Widely regarded as one of the finest entries in the series — tighter, more grounded and more genuinely thrilling than its predecessor. Budget: $2 million. Box office: $78.9 million.
• 1964 Goldfinger — Sean Connery Bond investigates gold magnate Auric Goldfinger, uncovers a plan to contaminate Fort Knox and meets henchman Oddjob and pilot Pussy Galore. The laser table scene and the golden woman are among the most imitated images in cinema. The film defines the Bond formula: gadgets, one-liners, a spectacular villain and an impossible scheme. Budget: $3 million. Box office: $124.9 million.
• 1965 Thunderball — Sean Connery SPECTRE steals two NATO nuclear warheads and holds the world to ransom. The film features extensive underwater sequences and was the highest-grossing Bond film at the time of release. Connery reportedly grows tired of the role during production and begins thinking about his exit. Budget: $9 million. Box office: $141.2 million.
• 1967 You Only Live Twice — Sean Connery Bond fakes his own death, is sent to Japan and infiltrates Blofeld's secret volcano base — a set so large it was the most expensive film set ever built at the time. The script, by Roald Dahl, is the first to depart significantly from the Fleming source novel. Donald Pleasence's Blofeld directly inspires Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers series. Budget: $9.5 million. Box office: $111.6 million.
• 1969 On Her Majesty's Secret Service — George Lazenby The only film in which George Lazenby plays Bond. 007 falls in love with and marries Teresa "Tracy" di Vicenzo, only for her to be murdered by Blofeld at the film's end — the most emotionally devastating conclusion in the franchise. Lazenby, a model with no acting experience, is effective but declines to continue. Budget: $7 million. Box office: $82 million.
• 1971 Diamonds Are Forever — Sean Connery Connery returns for a final official Eon appearance, lured back for a then-record salary of $1.25 million. Bond pursues a diamond-smuggling operation and faces Blofeld in Las Vegas. The film is campy and entertaining but marks the end of the definitive era of Bond. Budget: $7.2 million. Box office: $116 million.
• 1973 Live and Let Die — Roger Moore Roger Moore makes his Bond debut, introducing a lighter, more humorous interpretation of the character. Bond investigates a Caribbean drug lord and faces a voodoo cult. Paul McCartney contributes the title song, the first time a former Beatle contributes to a Bond soundtrack — one of the most successful songs in the franchise's history. Budget: $7 million. Box office: $161.8 million.
• 1974 The Man with the Golden Gun — Roger Moore Bond hunts Francisco Scaramanga, an elite assassin with a golden gun. The film introduces the legendary henchman Nick Nack and features a spectacular spiral car jump — later discovered to have been achieved in a single take without CGI. Budget: $7 million. Box office: $97.6 million.
• 1977 The Spy Who Loved Me — Roger Moore Widely regarded as the best of the Moore era. Bond teams up with Soviet agent Anya Amasova to investigate a plan to steal nuclear submarines. Jaws makes his first appearance — the towering steel-toothed henchman becomes one of the franchise's most beloved characters. Budget: $14 million. Box office: $185.4 million.
• 1979 Moonraker — Roger Moore Bond goes to space — the franchise's most extreme concession to the Star Wars era. Hugo Drax plans to destroy humanity from an orbital station. Jaws returns and unexpectedly falls in love. The film is extravagant, frequently absurd and a massive commercial success. Budget: $34 million. Box office: $210.3 million.
• 1981 For Your Eyes Only — Roger Moore A deliberate return to gritty realism after the excess of Moonraker. Bond investigates the theft of a British military encryption device, racing against the KGB. The film opens with Bond scattering the remains of his murdered wife Tracy — a rare moment of genuine emotional continuity in the series. Budget: $28 million. Box office: $195.3 million.
• 1983 Octopussy — Roger Moore Bond investigates a jewel-smuggling ring run by the mysterious Octopussy and uncovers a Soviet general's plot to detonate a nuclear device on a NATO base in West Germany. Moore, by now 55 years old, wears the role lightly. Budget: $27.5 million. Box office: $187.5 million.
• 1985 A View to a Kill — Roger Moore Moore's final film as Bond. Silicon Valley tech mogul Max Zorin, a product of KGB genetic experiments, plans to trigger an earthquake that will destroy Silicon Valley and give him control of the world's microchip market. Duran Duran contribute the title song, the only Bond theme to reach number one in the United States. Budget: $30 million. Box office: $152.4 million.
• 1987 The Living Daylights — Timothy Dalton Timothy Dalton takes over as Bond, bringing a harder, more faithful-to-Fleming interpretation. Bond helps a Soviet general defect and uncovers an arms and drugs smuggling operation. Dalton is intense and physical — critics respond positively but the film underperforms relative to the Moore peak. Budget: $40 million. Box office: $191.2 million.
• 1989 Licence to Kill — Timothy Dalton Dalton's second and final Bond film — the darkest entry in the franchise to that point. Bond goes rogue to avenge his CIA friend Felix Leiter, whose wife is murdered by drug lord Franz Sanchez. The film is genuinely menacing and tightly plotted. It is the first Bond film not to use a title from any Ian Fleming work. Budget: $32 million. Box office: $156.2 million.
• 1995 GoldenEye — Pierce Brosnan After a six-year hiatus caused by legal disputes and studio changes, Bond returns with Pierce Brosnan — widely considered the most perfectly cast actor in the role. The Cold War is over; the franchise must reinvent itself. GoldenEye does so spectacularly, with a tense opening, a brilliant villain in Sean Bean, and Judi Dench making her debut as M. Budget: $60 million. Box office: $356.4 million.
• 1997 Tomorrow Never Dies — Pierce Brosnan Bond battles a megalomaniacal media mogul who manipulates news coverage to trigger a war between Britain and China. The villain is a barely-disguised Rupert Murdoch figure. Michelle Yeoh co-stars as Chinese agent Wai Lin in one of the franchise's strongest female roles. Budget: $110 million. Box office: $339.5 million.
• 1999 The World Is Not Enough — Pierce Brosnan Bond investigates an oil heiress whose father has been assassinated, uncovering a plot involving a terrorist immune to pain. Judi Dench's M has a more prominent role. Denise Richards as nuclear physicist Christmas Jones is widely regarded as the weakest casting in the franchise's history. Budget: $135 million. Box office: $361.7 million.
• 2002 Die Another Day — Pierce Brosnan Brosnan's final Bond film. After being captured by North Korea and left for dead, Bond escapes and hunts down a traitor. The film celebrates the franchise's 40th anniversary with cameos and references but is critically divisive — its over-reliance on CGI and an invisible Aston Martin provoke considerable backlash. Budget: $142 million. Box office: $431.9 million.
• 2006 Casino Royale — Daniel Craig The franchise reinvents itself completely. Daniel Craig's portrayal — blond, brutal and emotionally raw — is initially the most controversial casting in Bond history. The backlash evaporates within minutes of the film opening. The pre-credits parkour chase and the poker game at the Casino Royale are landmark sequences. Eva Green is the finest Bond woman in the franchise's history. Budget: $150 million. Box office: $599.0 million.
• 2008 Quantum of Solace — Daniel Craig A direct sequel to Casino Royale — the only true sequel in the franchise's history — following Bond's grief-driven pursuit of the Quantum organisation after the death of Vesper Lynd. The shortest Bond film at 106 minutes. Compromised by the 2007-08 writers' strike, it is the weakest Craig entry but not without qualities. Budget: $200 million. Box office: $591.7 million.
• 2012 Skyfall — Daniel Craig The franchise's 50th anniversary film is also the finest Bond film ever made by most critical assessments. Sam Mendes directs; Roger Deakins shoots in luminous widescreen; Adele performs the theme. The villain Silva (Javier Bardem) is the franchise's most fully realised antagonist. The ending — Bond returning to his Scottish roots at Skyfall Lodge — is genuinely moving. Budget: $200 million. Box office: $1.1 billion.
• 2015 Spectre — Daniel Craig Spectre returns as the master organisation, now retconned as the villainous network behind every previous film. Christoph Waltz plays Blofeld. The film is visually spectacular but narratively cluttered, over-explaining mysteries that worked better as mysteries. It is the longest Bond film at 148 minutes. Budget: $245 million. Box office: $879.6 million.
• 2021 No Time to Die — Daniel Craig Craig's final Bond film — and the first in which Bond dies. After retirement, Bond is drawn back into service to stop a rogue MI6 agent wielding a devastating nanobody weapon. The emotional arc begun in Casino Royale reaches its conclusion. Billie Eilish contributes one of the finest Bond themes in the franchise's history. Budget: $250 million. Box office: $774.2 million.
• 2026 Bond 26 — in development With No Time to Die concluding Daniel Craig's arc, Amazon MGM Studios begins the search for the eighth Bond. Denis Villeneuve is confirmed as director; Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) will write the script. Casting remains unannounced as of June 2026, with names including Jacob Elordi, Callum Turner and others under consideration. A 2027-2028 release is expected.