James Bond Distribution

           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.