"Spectre," the 24th James Bond movie, hit theaters in 2015, more than 50 years after the first film in the popular series, "Dr. No." "Spectre" stars Daniel Craig as 007, with turns from Christoph Waltz, Monica Bellucci, Lea Seydoux and Ralph Fiennes. Look back at highlights of the character's career, including the Bond girls and villains:
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MGM studios
Photos: Decades of Bond -- James Bond
Sean Connery plays James Bond with Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder in 1962's "Dr. No," the film that launched the franchise.
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Apic/Getty Images
Photos: Decades of Bond -- James Bond
Connery rehearses a scene from the James Bond Film "From Russia With Love" with the Italian actress Daniela Bianchi playing Tatiana Romanova, while director Terence Young helps the actors.
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Getty Images
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British composer John Barry, creator of the James Bond theme music, at his piano in December 1967.
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Sean Connery's Bond is up to his tricks with actress Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore during the filming of "Goldfinger" in 1964.
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Getty Images
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English actress Shirley Eaton covered in gold in the James Bond film "Goldfinger," directed by Guy Hamilton and starring Sean Connery.
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A scene from the James Bond film "Thunderball" with Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, as Domino Derval, and Adolfo Celi playing Emilio Largo.
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Sean Connery and Luciana Paoluzzi as Fiona Volpe being photographed in bed on the set of the James Bond film, "Thunderball" in 1965.
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Actress Claudine Auger poses smoking a cigarette for her role as Domino Derval in the James Bond film, "Thunderball," directed by Terence Young, 1965. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)
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Connery surrouned by bathing beuties in "You Only Live Twice" in 1966.
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Donald Pleasence in character as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, holding a white cat on the set of "You Only Live Twice," in November 1966.
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Co-producers Harry Saltzman and Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, right, on the set of "You Only Live Twice" in October 1966.
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George Lazenby with actress Diana Rigg, who played Teresa di Vicenzo, during a press conference for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" in London, in October 1968.
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George Lazenby offers co-star Helena Ronee a light during the filming of "'On Her Majesty's Secret Service" in the Swiss Alps in October 1968.
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The cast of "Live and Let Die," in 1973, from front center, clockwise, Roger Moore as Bond, Jane Seymour as Solitaire, Julius Harris as Tee Hee, Geoffrey Holder as Baron Samedi, Earl Jolly Brown as Whisper and Yaphet Kotto as Kananga.
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Pierce Brosnan poses for a publicity shot for "GoldenEye" in 1995.
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Roger Moore hams it up during the filming of "Live and Let Die," in 1973.
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Roger Moore relaxes on location for the filming of "Live and Let Die," in 1973.
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Roger Moore drinks a martini, James Bond's signature drink.
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British pop singer Lulu poses with the gun from "The Man With The Golden Gun" after being signed to sing the film's title song.
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A replica gun from the 1974 James Bond movie, "The Man with the Golden Gun," autographed by Roger Moore.
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A Walther PPK handgun is held in front of a poster of the film "For Your Eyes Only."
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Roger Moore poses with the Bond Girls from the film "View to a Kill" in 1984.
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Roger Moore on set during the filming of "A View to a Kill" in Paris, France in August 1984.
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Timothy Dalton and Maryam d'Abo as Kara Milovy pose for a publicity still for the 1987 film "The Living Daylights."
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Director Timothy Dalton arrives at the Deauville airport in France to promote "The Living Daylights" in September 1987.
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Pierce Brosnan and Desmond Llewelyn, as Q, on the set of "The World Is Not Enough."
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Pierce Brosnan with Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, playng Wai Lin, pose on a motorcylce for "Tomorrow Never Dies" in 1997.
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Pierce Brosnan poses on an Aston Martin before starting filming on "Die Another Day" in January 2002.
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Daniel Craig poses in 2005 after being unveiled as the next actor to play the legendary British secret agent James Bond for "Casino Royale" in October 2005.
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Photos: Decades of Bond -- James Bond
Daniel Craig greets a naval officer as he is unveiled as the new James Bond in October 2005.
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Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko attend the Japanese premier of "Quantum of Solace" in November 2008 in Tokyo, Japan.
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"Skyfall," the 23rd James Bond movie, opened in theaters in 2012. Craig continued to lead the film as Bond, joined by Naomie Harris, Judi Dench and Javier Bardem.
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Photos: Decades of Bond -- James Bond
British actor David Oyelowo reportedly told The Guardian that he's been picked to portray Bond and other characters in the audiobook version of the novel "Trigger Mortis."
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Story highlights
Lewis Beale: New Bond film "Spectre," and unending stream of film sequels, makes you ask: Why can't Hollywood do something new?
Beale: Not when global market so far outstrips U.S. Overseas appetite is for familiar American franchises. Get used to more of same
Editor’s Note: Lewis Beale writes about culture and film for the Los Angeles Times, Newsday and other publications. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) —
If there’s a feeling of déjà vu surrounding “Spectre,” the new James Bond film, that’s because it’s treading on familiar ground:
007 goes after a bad guy heading up some sort of conspiracy that’s international in scope; he beds some hotties along the way, tangles with his superiors – M in particular – and manages to travel to exotic locations, engage in at least one major fistfight, a car chase, maybe fall out of an airplane, and blow up a few buildings along the way.
Lewis Beale
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Courtesy of Lewis Beale
Yawn. How many times have we seen this before?
Listen, it’s not that sticking to formula is anything new in Hollywood these days. Just think of all those “Spiderman,” “X-Men,” “Batman,” “Superman,” “Fast and Furious,” “Hunger Games,” etc., etc., films. And let’s not forget the new “Star Wars” flick, “The Force Awakens,” opening December 18, which is not only the seventh film in the franchise, but also so eagerly awaited that some pundits are predicting it will gross over $600 million globally on its opening weekend.
This just in: the “Star Wars” film will feature Imperial stormtroopers, light sabers, droids, references to the Force, desert planets and fighter jets.
Here’s where you ask: “Have the studios given up on original content? And if they have, why?”
Photos: Sequel mania: A guide to the next few years of film
The trailer for "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" already has fans anxiously awaiting the sequel with Amanda Seyfried and Meryl Streep. It's set to dance into theaters in July.
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Universal Pictures
Photos: Sequel mania: A guide to the next few years of film
"Pitch Perfect 3" hits theaters Friday and continues the story of everyone's favorite girl a cappella group.
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Universal Pictures
Photos: Sequel mania: A guide to the next few years of film
"Fifty Shades Freed" is the final in the trilogy of the erotic franchise which started with 2015's "Fifty Shades of Grey" film. Based on the E. L. James, novels, they follow the relationship between mogul Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. It's scheduled to drop in February 2018.
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Universal Pictures
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"Star Wars" actor John Boyega stars in "Pacific Rim: Uprising," the follow up to Guillermo del Toro's hit sci-fi film. It comes to theaters in February 2018.
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Universal Pictures
Photos: Sequel mania: A guide to the next few years of film
You need to be following star Ryan Reynolds on Twitter because he's been dropping info there about "Deadpool 2" which hits theaters June 1, 2018.
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20th Century Fox
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It isn't often that another sequel is celebrated, but a fourth installment of "Toy Story"? We're in. It's scheduled to release in June 2018.
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Disney/Pixar
Photos: Sequel mania: A guide to the next few years of film
"X-Men: Dark Phoenix" will take up where 2016's "X-Men: Apocalypse" left off when it arrives in theaters in November 2018.
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20th Century Fox
Photos: Sequel mania: A guide to the next few years of film
It's been a while, but James Cameron is finally making a return to Pandora in December 2018 with "Avatar 2." The followup to the 2009 blockbuster will be followed by more sequels in 2020, 2022 and 2023. "It's going to be a true epic saga," Cameron said. Here's a look at some other high-profile upcoming releases that continue popular movie franchises.
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From Twentieth Century Fox
Photos: Sequel mania: A guide to the next few years of film
The penguins from Dreamworks' "Madagascar" films have turned into breakout stars. The scheming seabirds had a movie all of their own called "Penguins of Madagascar." In 2018, we'll also get a fourth installment of the "Madagascar" series.
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20th Century Fox
Photos: Sequel mania: A guide to the next few years of film
Audiences were somewhat divided on M. Night Shyamalan's psychological horror film "Split" in 2016 and they'll get a chance to either love or hate the continuation of the story when "Glass" arrives in January 2019.
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Universal Pictures
Photos: Sequel mania: A guide to the next few years of film
A new and improved Godzilla stormed into theaters in May 2014, and in March 2019, we'll get a second look at the fearsome monster in "Godzilla: King of the Monsters." That's just the beginning, though, with "Godzilla vs. King Kong" in May 2020.
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Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Photos: Sequel mania: A guide to the next few years of film
The third "How to Train Your Dragon" animated movie is due out in March 2019.
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Dreamworks Animation
Photos: Sequel mania: A guide to the next few years of film
Brad Pitt tool on a different kind of role in the 2013 sci-fi thriller "World War Z" and is set to reprise it in "World War Z 2" due in 2019.
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Paramount Pictures
Photos: Sequel mania: A guide to the next few years of film
Marvel already has two more "Avengers" movies on the calendar: "Avengers: Infinity War Part I" opens May 2018, followed by "Avengers: Infinity War Part 2" in May 2019.
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Walt Disney/Marvel
Photos: Sequel mania: A guide to the next few years of film
Fans will have to wait till June 2019 for "The Incredibles 2." "Anytime you dedicate another couple of hours of screen time, you'll hopefully expand the world (of 'The Incredibles') a bit," said director Brad Bird. "It's fun for me to pick up the same characters and do new things with them. I'm enjoying it."
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Disney/Pixar
Photos: Sequel mania: A guide to the next few years of film
The last time we saw Eddie Murphy as Detective Axel Foley, it was in 1994's "Beverly Hills Cop III." But the passage of time is nothing to a movie studio eager to bet on a proven franchise; "Beverly Hills Cop 4," again starring Murphy as Foley, is in the works.
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Paramount Pictures
The answers to those questions are: (a) pretty much, and (b) three words: global box office. In addition to the films already in the pipeline, there are over 90 remakes and reboots in the works, which means Hollywood is always looking for material it can remake and resell.
And this obsession with the familiar has a lot to do with filmgoers in Guadalajara, Guangzhou and Gdansk, whose tastes now determine what films get made. That’s because foreign box office for major movies like the Bond film now accounts for more than 70% of total revenue. And what those folks out there seem to like are big budget American franchise flicks filled with CGI effects, tried and true plotlines, plenty of action sequences and not a whole heck of a lot of dialogue (which the studios like, because they don’t have to spend a bunch of money on dubbing or subtitles).
Check out a few recent figures: “Jurassic World”, which grossed over $1.6 billion worldwide, earned 60% of that amount overseas. “Furious 7” took in 76% of its $1.5 billion global gross outside the United States. “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” 67%; “Minions,” 71%; the two recent Hobbit films, 73% each.
There are several reasons for this. Ticket sales in the United States continue to decline, with many Americans saying they’d rather watch films at home than in a theater, while international box office keeps expanding. And that global business is driven by the Asian market, where the number of theater screens increased by 15% last year and Chinese box office numbers jumped by a whopping 34% in 2014.
In this kind of marketplace, can you blame the studios for wanting to go where the big bucks are? In some cases, the films are made to appeal directly to the foreign market, primarily to attract the major yuan coming out of China. “Iron Man 3,” for example, had scenes added just for the Chinese filmgoer. And you can be certain the space agency cooperation between China and the United States in the current box office hit “The Martian” hasn’t hurt its ticket sales in Shanghai (57% of the film’s gross has come from overseas).
The downside of all this, of course, is that critically acclaimed smaller films, or more adult dramas, have a harder time getting screen time, which means they struggle to gain traction at the box office. When a single film like “Spectre” opens in roughly 3,500 theaters, representing about 10% of all U.S. screens, that tends to crowd a lot of other movies out of the picture.
And there’s this. “Spectre,” which cost $250 million to make – it’s one of the most expensive films ever – needs to gross around $650 million just to break even.
Which means it better do boffo business overseas. This is Hollywood’s new normal. Get used to it.
