Experts have put the value of James Bond at around £13 billion.
Value of James Bond franchise said to be £16 billion
Ever wondered as to what the value of James Bond is? Well, specialists at the London School of Marketing have compiled data on the world-famous movie franchise and the actors who have played the lead role. They have estimated that Brand Bond could be worth as much as £13 billion.
With Spectre, the 24th Bond movie, which debuted in British cinemas last night following a huge premiere at the Royal Albert Hall, the franchise is on a high.
Of the £13 billion generated by the brand, £9 billion was from box office sales with the remaining £2 billion in DVD and equivalent sales and £2billion in merchandising and co-marketing.
Skyfall is the most successful Bond movie ever taking £750 million closely followed by Goldfinger and Thunderball, which if adjusted for inflation, each took in around £675 million.
The profitability of the early Bonds was much higher as the cost of the movie was far lower to produce, around £20 – £30 million.
The original 007, Sean Connery, would have been the highest earner.
The current 007, Daniel Craig is the highest earning Bond, being paid £25 million for the latest movie.
However, the first Bond, Sean Connery is arguably the most successful thanks to revenue and profit shares. Taking into account inflation, he might have earned as much as £47 million from Diamonds are Forever alone.
Each current Bond movie brings in box office returns of just over four times its production costs, but most of the production cost and a large part of the marketing is covered by product and brand linkages making the risk significantly reduced.
In the early films during the 60s and 70s, the return was 20 fold. The decrease is down to a reliance on expensive special effects.
Faculty member of London School of Marketing, Jacques de Cock said; “The James Bond franchise is a juggernaut. It combines drama, humour, suspense, romance and intrigue to make it the giant it is.
“It’s very good at casting the perfect Bond and one who fits the moment. All have the same characteristics – he’s his own man who doesn’t follow convention, he’s classy and never loses his sense of style and he’s tech savvy.
“The actors combine toughness and class – Roger Moore was more class than toughness, whereas Daniel Craig is more toughness than class to make him more relevant.
Daniel Craig in ‘Spectre’
“As with all great brands, it plays on nostalgia too. Who isn’t going to watch the new movie? Bond has become a British institution.
“Underlying all of this is a brand which is cleverly marketed and appeals to sponsors keen to bank on its profitability.
“Take product placement and marketing tie ins. These add between £80 million and £150 million to the films revenue, which pretty much pays for the whole production.
“Any brand linked to Bond is almost guaranteed a return on their investment, fourteen brands have already associated themselves with Spectre, four of which – Heineken, Aston Martin, Omega, and Tom Ford – also paid for association with Skyfall so must be happy with the return. This proves just how valuable that link with 007 is for these brands.
“For Skyfall, Heineken paid £28 million for product linkage. This is smaller but on the same scale as an Olympic event in terms of its both expense and reach.
“The Bond brand is one of the strongest out there. Could it be destroyed? Only if a high profile Bond bad-mouths it but without doubt the brand is bigger than the actors who play the title role, as its proved time and time again.
“However, the current enthusiasm for Spectre can only enhance the brand and make the marketing partners very happy.”
