Well, LTK was soundly trounced by Batman and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, because the audience were inclined to see them over the Dalton movie.
Untrue. LICENCE TO KILL didn't open in competition with either of those. They may have shared the same summer, but the fact that those films were around had nothing to do with LICENCE TO KILL's failure.
LTK may have opened a month after Batman, but that didn`t change the fact that, domestically, Batman and Last Crusade did trounce LTK at the box office, overall.
I`m sure if international box office figures could be found, both Batman and Last Crusdade, did better internationally than LTK also.
I do agree with you that, by the time of AVTAK/TLD the world, (America?) were tired of Bond. That obviously didn`t help Dalton, (even though his first film did better box office than AVTAK) and the marketing, (or lack of it) was also a major factor.
As good as many here feel Dalton did to revitilise the series after Moore`s departure, (myself included) his 'performance' in TLD wasn`t enough to revitilise the series for the average cinemagoer, (coupled with the fact that many didn`t take to Dalton`s 'seriousness' in the role) and LTK just compounded this fact with a film who`s plot didn`t allow for the usual 'Bond formula' to surface and give the audience what they were expecting, before entering the cinema.
This leads me to wonder if we can ever have a serious Bond film again? Every time the producers try to be more serious, OHMSS, FYEO, TLD/LTK, it seems to backfire on them. The above 4 films weren`t what the general (non Bond fan) audience wanted, and each new film after the one that 'failed' brought back the more acceptable 'Bond formula'.
Will history repeat itself with CR? Will we get an excellent film/Bond in Craig, only to see the producers/SONY panic if the film does less well than expected? Going back to another carbon copy of DAD may be the only route left open to Babs and Wilson, if the franchise is to continue.
Personally, if that happens, I think a change won`t work with Craig on board. Craig, like Dalton before him, is an actor used to starring in/being in films that are (usually) grounded in reality. Taking Bond 22 to the level of another DAD may make Craig feel uncomfortable, having to play it more for laughs, with less of the danger and story character than what, apparently, is in CR, (the script of which made Craig decide to take the role in the first place) and I would be very surprised if Craig was able to fulfil his 3 picture contract, either because he jumped ship first, (not being happy with the change of direction the series had gone in) or he was pushed because the audience/studio didn`t take to him, (in either film).
Best
Andy
Edited by Auric64, 23 August 2006 - 05:37 AM.