James Bond is one of the most beloved franchises in the world. Cumulatively, the 25 James Bond films make
the franchise the
third highest grossing franchise in the world. The company that has distributed and produced
the movies, Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer, since buying United Artists in 1981 has not
been doing well this decade. In 2010,
the film company filed for bankruptcy, leaving questions as to whether or not
the company can even rebound. Then, in 2011,
MGM agreed with Sony for distribution rights to more than 4,000 films in the
MGM catalog, and distribution for two new James Bond films. The deal also calls for MGM to finance a
handful of movie for Sony, including The
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and 21
Jump Street.
Those two James
Bond movies ended up being the successful Skyfall
and the upcoming Spectre. After Spectre, the distribution rights for James Bond films are up for grabs. The
short-lived deal between Sony and MGM means than James Bond could be going to another
studio. In addition, since MGM is still
rebounding from bankruptcy, they do not have the funds to go back to
distributing movies themselves so they absolutely have to find a
distributor. According to variety.com
writer Brent Lang, distribution rights could potentially go to Warner
Brothers. Both Warner Bros. and MGM have
collaborated in the past, most recently with The Hobbit movies, so they do have
history together. Sony cannot afford to
lose distribution rights to this franchise, because Skyfall made over one
billion in the box office. Sony
themselves have not been doing well, seeing that the last Spider-Man movie did
not meet their expectations, so in February announced a team up with Marvel
Studios to boost sales. Overall, the
deal, which will happen sometimes next year, has the potential to change the
industry.
