James Bond is arguably the most iconic franchise in the history of cinema, given that the 007 film series basically invented the term. Bond was the first really mega movie franchise, and has racked up 27 movies to date, including the two which don’t form part of Eon Productions’ film series. Before the arrival of Harry Potter, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Disney’s Star Wars sequels, the franchise was also the highest-grossing in cinema history (via Statista).

In nominal terms, of course, the most recent Bond movies rank as the highest-grossing. The five films starring Daniel Craig as 007 are the only ones in the series which reaching $500 million in box office takings. 2012’s Skyfall remains the only Bond film to have grossed over $1 billion worldwide. However, it wouldn’t be entirely fair on earlier movies in the series to rank the highest earners without factoring in inflation. A single US dollar in 1962 – the year of Bond’s first big-screen appearance in Dr. No – would be worth over 10 dollars today. This list of the 10 highest-grossing James Bond movies is adjusted accordingly via the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

10

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

$904 Million Grossed

The seventh James Bond movie stands out for its campy production and Shirley Bᴀssey’s scintillating performance of the тιтle song. It was also the final Eon 007 film to feature Sean Connery as the legendary MI6 agent. Connery would return the following decade for the non-Eon Never Say Never Again, but Diamonds Are Forever was his real swansong.

Connery had actually returned to the role by popular demand, after the relatively poor box office performance of the previous movie in the series, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. That film had the Australian actor George Lazenby playing Bond for the first and final time, after Connery left the franchise following 1967’s You Only Live Twice. The original Bond actor’s return certainly helped bring fans to the theaters in their millions.

9

Moonraker (1979)

$914 Million Grossed

1979’s Moonraker was the second movie to feature possibly the most terrifying character in the James Bond franchise. Richard Kiel’s Jaws wasn’t in the Ian Fleming novel on which the movie is based, but he made such an impact in the film version of The Spy Who Loved Me that franchise Albert “Cubby” Broccoli decided he needed to come back for another dice with 007.

Jaws is even more prominent in Moonraker than he was during his big-screen debut, with his ᴅᴇᴀᴅ-eyed, metal-toothed grin frequenting the nightmares of a generation thereafter. While he survives the movie to fight another die, Kiel’s character was retired for its follow-up For Your Eyes Only, and Bond suffered at the box office as a result.

8

Casino Royale (2006)

$931 Million Grossed

Billed as the arrival of “James Blond”, Daniel Craig’s first outing as 007 was an enormous success, transforming both the critical and commercial fortunes of a franchise many had considered to be on its way out. Craig’s darker, more flawed iteration of Bond, along with visually stunning chase scenes and combat sequences, and a more realistic love interest in the form of Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd, were a recipe for record-breaking box office returns.

“The best Bond since Sean Connery. I might even say equal to Connery… especially Connery in the first James Bond film Dr. No, which was as close as any prior movies came to the gritty realism of Casino Royale.” – Vic Holtreman – ScreenRant’s review of Casino Royale

Casino Royale is still a central pillar in the argument for Craig being the greatest Bond of all, although his supremacy on this list is far from guaranteed. Casino Royale was followed by the disappointing Quantum of Solace in 2009, leaving the most recent James Bond with plenty still to prove, despite his superb opening runout in the role.

7

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

$966 Million Grossed

The killer combination of Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Jaws and one of the best Bond villains, Karl Stromberg, drew huge audiences to The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977. Moore had settled into the part of 007 effortlessly, adding an extra dose of flair and dry English wit to the character.

From the era in which James Bond films were more cartoonish and cavalier than serious cinematic spectacles, The Spy Who Loved Me is surely the most unabashedly bonkers and self-parodying. The movie leans into the elements that most appeal to Bond fans with a knowing wink, and it deservedly won big at the box office as a result.

6

You Only Live Twice (1967)

$1.06 Billion Grossed

James Bond’s fifth outing on the big screen, You Only Live Twice, took him to Japan, where he encountered a villainous chemical manufacturer named Osato, in the employ of Ernst Stavro Blofeld and SPECTRE. This change of scenery and pace worked well for the series at the time, which was still a novelty in the film industry and one of cinema’s biggest draws.

You Only Live Twice couldn’t compare with its immediate forerunners in the Bond series at the box office (more on them, later). But it was a worthy addition to the Connery era of 007, and still outperformed the parody version of Casino Royale released the same year three times over.

5

Live And Let Die (1973)

$1.15 Billion Grossed

Primarily known today for its тιтle song written and performed by Paul McCartney and Wings, Live and Let Die was actually Roger Moore’s berth in the role of James Bond. While people flocked to theaters to see Bond’s first full-time Connery replacement, what they saw wasn’t one of the franchise’s proudest moments.

The film’s box office performance is perhaps testament to what came before it, and the excitement of seeing Moore as 007 for the first time.

Moore was clearly still getting to grips with his new role in the movie, while Mr. Big and Baron Samedi are some of the worst caricatures ever to appear in a Bond movie. The film’s box office performance is perhaps testament to what came before it, and the excitement of seeing Moore as 007 for the first time. The actor fared much better in his subsequent appearances as James Bond.

4

Spectre (2015)

$1.16 Billion Grossed

Spectre is another film which proved underwhelming for most viewers and critics, despite the hype following Daniel Craig’s third Bond movie Skyfall. Sam Mendes’ second film of the franchise as director does have an ace up its sleeve, though, in the shape of Christoph Waltz as a new version of Blofeld. Waltz was arguably underused in the role, particularly in Spectre’s long-awaited follow-up No Time to Die.

With Waltz facing off with Craig, the film did what it set out to do in reviving a classic James Bond storyline from decades earlier. The тιтle refers to Blofeld’s international criminal organization, which proved to be a thorn in the side of MI6 for much of Connery’s run as Bond. Nevertheless, Bond producers decided not to make SPECTRE or Blofeld the main focus of Bond’s intelligence work after this movie.

3

Goldfinger (1964)

$1.27 Billion Grossed

Goldfinger was the first movie in which James Bond really hit his stride, as all the elements for which we’ve come to know and love 007 movies were fully fleshed out for the first time. The slick action sequences, sophisticated gadgetary, Bond’s definitive Aston Martin supercar, multiple Bond girls, a stupendous supervillain and his comically evil underlings – they’re all there, right on cue.

Bond had never been better, and it showed at the box office. Goldfinger became one of the first movies in history to gross over $100 million worldwide. In today’s money, that puts it well over $1 billion. Its profits are also reflected in the recognition it receives in pop culture; even today, Goldfinger is revered as one of James Bond’s most memorable outings.

2

Thunderball (1965)

$1.41 Billion Grossed

Goldfinger’s follow-up did even better in theaters a year later, ensuring that Sean Connery’s Bond claims two out of the top three places in this list. Following the unprecedented success of its forerunner, Thunderball is inevitably somewhat bloated and overblown, with a budget totalling triple what Goldfinger took to make, and the movie overstays its welcome by at least 15 minutes.

Still, it kept up the franchise’s momentum, and kept audiences wanting more in advance of You Only Live Twice’s release two years later. Thunderball kept hold of its record as the James Bond movie with the biggest adjusted box office takings for almost half a century, until Daniel Craig teamed up with Sam Mendes and Javier Bardem.

1

Skyfall (2012)

$1.52 Billion Grossed

Sam Mendes’ debut as a Bond film director could hardly have gone better. Skyfall garnered widespread critical acclaim, a landmark ending for Judi Dench’s M, James Bond’s first Oscar in 47 years for Best Original Song as well as a platinum record, and gross earnings of over $1.5 billion, taking inflation into account.

The movie’s performances and set pieces arguably top anything else 007 has ever done, although the film’s storyline does err slightly on the sentimental side for the liking of some fans. However, few could argue that Skyfall deserves its crown as James Bond’s highest-grossing movie, both nominally and in real terms.

Sources: Statista; The Numbers via The James Bond Dossier; US Bureau of Labor Statistics.