The James Bond movies have always been successful at the box office, but some of them have grossed more money than others. Each 007 actor’s highest-grossing movie hasn’t always been their most critically acclaimed. In fact, some universally panned Bond films – like the Roger Moore-starring Moonraker and the Pierce Brosnan-starring Die Another Day – have topped their stars’ tenure at the box office.
From Sean Connery’s 1965 hit Thunderball to Daniel Craig’s $1 billion-grossing record-breaker Skyfall, every Bond actor has one movie that outgrossed all the others.
6 George Lazenby – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service ($82,000,000)
Not only did George Lazenby appear in just one Bond movie; that one Bond movie, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, also grossed less money than the most successful movies of every other Bond actor. But that supposed failure can be attributed to inflation. According to The Numbers, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service grossed $82 million.
That’s not a huge blockbuster by today’s standards, but it was a massive success in 1969 dollars. The Lazenby-starring 007 adventure was one of the biggest box office hits of the year, along with such New Hollywood classics as Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
5 Sean Connery – Thunderball ($141,200,000)
Sean Connery’s original run in the role of Bond got off to a terrific start with three untouchable masterpieces, each one even greater than the last: Dr. No, From Russia with Love, and Goldfinger. The series finally started to falter with its fourth installment, Thunderball, but that’s where Connery’s box office success peaked.
According to The Numbers, Thunderball grossed $141.2 million, making it the third highest-grossing movie of 1965 after The Sound of Music and Doctor Zhivago.
4 Timothy Dalton – The Living Daylights ($191,200,000)
Timothy Dalton only starred in two Bond movies, but they were both successful at the box office. His dark, brooding take on the character of 007 polarized fans of the movies, but it was deemed the most faithful portrayal to date by fans of the original novels. According to The Numbers, Dalton’s first Bond movie, The Living Daylights, was his most successful, with a gross of $191.2 million.
It’s hardly surprising that The Living Daylights made more money than Dalton’s second and final Bond film, License to Kill. License to Kill is the only Bond movie to receive the more prohibitive 15 rating from the BBFC, and it was wildly controversial for its violent content.
3 Roger Moore – Moonraker ($210,300,000)
The Roger Moore era of the Bond franchise, running from the ‘70s to the ‘80s, famously followed contemporary genre trends. Live and Let Die was a blaxploitation Bond film cashing in on the popular Pam Grier action-packed gems with a Harlem drug lord for a villain. The Man with the Golden Gun was a martial arts Bond film cashing in on Bruce Lee’s kung fu classics with a focus on hand-to-hand fight scenes. Moonraker was a sci-fi Bond film that sent 007 into the cosmos to cash in on the unexpected success of George Lucas’ iconic space opera Star Wars.
According to Alex Ben Block and Lucy Autrey Wilson’s book George Lucas’ Blockbusting, copying Star Wars paid off handsomely for the Bond producers. Moonraker’s trip to space was considered too far-fetched for some Bond fans, but it became the biggest box office success of the Moore era with a whopping worldwide gross of $210.3 million.
2 Pierce Brosnan – Die Another Day ($431,942,139)
Pierce Brosnan’s final movie in the role of 007, Die Another Day, received the most negative reviews of the actor’s four-film tenure. It was widely criticized for its nonsensical plot and reliance on CGI effects in sequences like the tsunami surf. But, according to The Numbers, it also made the most money at the box office. Brosnan’s first three Bond movies grossed more than $300 million, but Die Another Day broke the $400 million barrier with a grand total of $431,942,139.
A Bond film hadn’t been this silly since the Moore tenure. There are a few highlights in Die Another Day that its commercial success can be attributed to, like its thrilling North Korea-set cold open and Halle Berry’s fan-favorite turn as badass “Bond girl” Jinx Johnson.
1 Daniel Craig – Skyfall ($1,108,561,013)
Every one of Daniel Craig’s Bond movies was a huge commercial success – even his last one, No Time to Die, released while the effects of the pandemic were still hurting big-budget tentpoles’ chances at the box office. But the highest-grossing Craig-starring Bond movie, by quite a large margin, was his third outing, Skyfall. According to Box Office Mojo, Skyfall grossed $1,108,561,013 at the global box office. It became the first (and, so far, only) Bond film to cross the $1 billion threshold.
Director Sam Mendes brought back the series’ classic sense of fun after the dreary, disappointing Quantum of Solace. Skyfall maintained the gritty realism established by Casino Royale, but also adhered to the hallmarks of the franchise that the Craig movies had previously done away with. The Aston Martin, the Q Branch gadgets, and the snappy one-liners all made a comeback in Skyfall, and this fan service paid off at the box office.