Bond Bug

I think it would be a mistake to bring in a previous Bond director. From a marketing point of view it would be a regressive step. Rightly or wrongly, Skyfall is seen as an improvement on previous Bonds. To use a former Bond director is looking like a step backward. A big name director is needed to push the Bond box office forward. Christopher Nolan would be awesome. He would bring his vision to the next Bond film as well as increased media interest and the fans of his own movies.

Everyone is saying Boyle. I didn't even know Susan Boyle was being considered.

That's fine if her star fades. I doubt many expect otherwise. But better to be a star that shines brightly, even for a few years, than to never shine at all. I don't really see why you have such a big problem with that.

She is a very marketable brand. The audience know what they are getting for their money, and if she can open a movie like this to anywhere near $30m, I would say that makes her the top female box office star of 2012. Sorry you have to insult anyone who sees this movie, and even more sorry anyone "likes" your post.

Why is it that True Lies, Jason Bourne and Ethan Hunt have done so much better than James Bond in the States? - even XXX.I thought it was a British thing - Americans want their superspies to be American. Yes, Bond was massive in the 1960s, but there were no really good American alternatives back then. Skyfall shows that, for whatever reason, James Bond has been accepted by an American audience, just as well as Batman. James Bond has finally arrived, up there with the all-American superheroes. That isn't going to suddenly disappear with the next Bond flick. There is no logical reason why that should disappear. I therefore fully expect the Skyfall audience to be there for Bond 24 and some more. So I confidently predict well over $300m for Bond 24 domestic gross.

Robert DeNiro

Let's look at how former Bond actors have done at the worldwide box office:What was Sean Connery's highest grossing Bond movie? His fourth (Thunderball).What was Roger Moore's highest grossing Bond? His fourth (Moonraker).What was Pierce Brosnan's highest grossing Bond movie? His fourth (Die Another Day).Which Bond movie will Daniel Craig make next? His fourth (Bond 24).

Not crazy at all.The overseas market is booming - an increase of 20% in 2010 and 2011 combined.If that repeats in the next two years, add 20% to a possible $830m (Skyfall overseas with China) and you get $1bAdd $300 for a domestic gross and you get $1.3b.$1.5b is just 200m more than $1.3b, or 15% more.Taking into account overseas expansion, I am suggesting Bond 24 will make just 15% more than Skyfall.I give some reasons for this in my post above.Since when has a modest 15% increase for one film in a franchise to the next been crazy?If that is crazy, what is an increase from under $600m (Quantum) to over $1.1b (Skyfall)?

You are right, Bond 24 won't have those factors, but what it will have is:Pent-up demand from a two year absence (yes, that is not four years, but nearly twice as many people will have seen Skyfall than Quantum of Solace, so initial demand for Bond 24 will be bigger).Many more screens, as Bond is now up there with the big boys.Much more excitement generated by the media that will see Bond 24 through the prism of an event $300/$1.1b movie and not a $160/$600m movie.Sky-high expectations because of Skyfall - which Skyfall didn't have after the disappointing Quantum of Solace.High expectations equals more media attention.Another two years of international box office inflation.Daniel Craig who will be a bona-fide top-tier star after Skyfall and another couple of hits before Bond 24 is released.The improved status of the series means that they can attract a bigger star name as the villain or a star director.Plus, the producers have learned lessons about making a quality popular product, the importance of marketing and the impact of recruiting one of the world's biggest singers. I think they will aim to build on the momentum.

I don't see any reason why they can't make another Bond flick that is as good or better than Skyfall. I am not sure if Skyfall was any better than Casino Royale. In fact, Rotten Tomatoes rates CR higher than Skyfall. The producers have obviously decided that they want to make a quality product. The arthouse direction of Quantum of Solace fell flat in many ways, but the effort was there. Why is Skyfall being nominated for more awards and taking more money than the previous two? I think that has more to do with timing, the rise of and acceptance of Daniel Craig, pent-up demand after a four year break, the Adele song, the 50th anniversary etc., than the quality of the movie, compared to Casino Royale. So, I fully expect another Bond movie of the same quality.

I would put it at, at least $1.5b W/W

Ben Kingsley

Incredible for Skyfall - just half a million short of DOUBLING the Quantum of Solace gross!

It had a lot to do with it. A hit around the world and 75 million hits on Youtube - and that is just one video that is an ad for Skyfall.

Why is the Rock there?

Anthony Hopkins

Give me John Barry any day!.He could make bad movies into something special - for example, Raise the Titantic or Somewhere in Time.So I would have to go for a John Barry Bond score - Octopussy.OHMSS - I have just heard that too many times, but it is a great score.

The Full Monty was impressive. I would look at the box office numbers week after week and say: "Wow! That has just increased again!"

It looks like Skyfall will make more money in the UK than any previous Bond movie has made in the whole of North America! This is amazing!

How do you know these things?

I don;t think that is anyone's intention. The question, as I understand it, is: Would we accept a black James Bond?

As I say, I don't personally have any problem with a black actor playing Bond, or an actor of any ethnicity. Look at my screen name - I am a big Bond fan. I will be there whoever plays Bond, and if a black actor was the best choice, that suits me personally.However, all I am saying is audiences have a picture in their mind of what James Bond looks like.There is a strong sense that this is the same man who destroyed Dr. No's evil plan and took on Silva, in Skyfall. The audience have got to know him over a lifetime. Changing him so he looks too different might make the new actor hard to accept. It would be like changing a character in a soap opera. If they replaced a black actor with a white actor, the audience might find that hard to accept this is the same character in a soap opera.Whilst I don't personally care, I would not recommend that the producers change the Bond Actor to a black actor, in the same way a James Bond who is five foot tall, or who has long blond hair, or is completely bald, is risking the longevity of the series.

I was a big fan of the TV show, The Equalizer, with Edward Woodward (white British actor) in the title role. When I heard Denzel Washington might play the part in a movie version, I thought that would be fantastic casting. Washington has played roles where he is fighting for justice, but outside the law, and that would be perfect for The Equalizer.However, Bond is different. I would be just as keen to see any actor play Bond whatever ethnicity, as long as they were good, but everyone who knows of Bond, knows he is white. You wouldn't recast the Corleone family in The Godfather as Asians. You wouldn't recast Tyler Perry's Medea with a white guy. And you wouldn't recast the character of Lee, played by Jackie Chan. in Rush hour, with a Black guy. Nothing to do with race, but to do with casting that considers many aspects of the characters' physique, including age, height, build and ethnicity. .

I agree absolutely. However, James Bond is a character that the audience have got to know over a long time. Although several actors have played Bond, it is still not too difficult to make the leap of imagination that he is still the same character. Remember all the complaints about Daniel Craig being cast as Bond? Look at the complaints about Tom Cruise being cast as Jack Reacher. I am sure a black actor could be terrific as Bond, but the producers would risk losing that sense of continuity and they would risk rejection by those who identify with Bond in a fixed and rigid way.

They could introduce the idea by having Bond "black up" to go undercover, similar to how Bond went for a more oriental look in You Only Live Twice.