Posted on November 10, 2015 by Andrew Lisa
The James Bond franchise is one of the most successful movie series in history, and with a legacy that spans more than half a century, it is certainly one of the most enduring. The franchise’s newest film, Spectre, has already earned more in its opening weekend than all by seven of the films, showing the series’ ability to still connect with audiences today. With 24 movies* released between 1962 and the present, 007’s global fan base can argue about which Bond flick is the best into eternity.
We’ve developed a methodology to determine the order in which the Bond movies should be ranked. The analysis is based on inflation-adjusted cumulative box-office earnings, as well as an average of critics’ ratings and audience ratings gleaned from Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and IMDb data.
According to critics, Daniel Craig just edges out Sean Connery as the best 007 actor ever.
Bond fans and professional critics don’t always agree on the order of the movies, so this list was designed to settle the matter once and for all. We’ve sorted the list starting with the Bonds with the lowest-average ratings, ending with the most critically acclaimed and audience-loved installments.
*Note: Never Say Never Again was left off the list because it was not produced by Eon Productions. Spectre was also not included as cumulative box office and average ratings are not yet available.
23. A View to a Kill
Rating average: 49
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $109,833,000
Roger Moore’s Bond is carrying a powerful computer chip that was built by a man who plans to destroy Silicon Valley by triggering an earthquake.
22. Octopussy
Rating average: 54.5
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $149,171,000
Roger Moore’s 007 learns about a plot to detonate nuclear weapons while searching for an agent’s murderer — and a priceless Faberge egg.
21. Die Another Day
Rating average: 54.75
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $101,356,000
Pierce Brosnan’s Bond is betrayed, captured by the North Koreans and then traded for a North Korean terrorist who was being held by MI6.
20. Moonraker
Rating average: 55
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $230,407,000
Roger Moore is back as Bond, who is blasted into space to find out who was behind the hijacking of a spaceship.
19. The Man With the Golden Gun
Rating average: 57.25
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $101,356,000
Roger Moore’s Bond is on the trail of a high-end assassin, who 007 learns has great respect for the British agent.
18. The World Is Not Enough
Rating average: 57.5
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $189,713,000
Pierce Brosnan’s Bond is caught between an oil magnate and a man who is plotting to destroy a pipeline.
17. Tomorrow Never Dies
Rating average: 58.5
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $257,333,000
Pierce Brosnan is Bond, who is embroiled with a media mogul who wants to start a war between China and Great Britain.
16. Quantum of Solace
Rating average: 61
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $230,407,000
A pursuit of international criminals leads Daniel Craig’s Bond to a developer of green energy.
15. License to Kill
Rating average: 61.25
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $34,667,015
Bond, played by Timothy Dalton, is stripped of his license to kill after pursuing a drug baron who doesn’t interest MI6.
14. Live and Let Die
Rating average: 62.75
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $189,713,000
The murder of several agents leads Sean Connery’s 007 to New Orleans, where he must navigate a peculiar and dangerous underworld.
13. Diamonds Are Forever
Rating average: 63
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $257,333,000
Sean Connery’s Bond is on the case of a diamond smuggling ring — and the assassins who are killing the jewel thieves.
12. The Living Daylights
Rating average: 64.5
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $51,185,897
Timothy Dalton is 007, who finds himself in Afghanistan while trying to coordinate a Russian official’s defection.
11. For Your Eyes Only
Rating average: 65
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $143,448,000
Roger Moore’s Bond races against the Russians to locate ATAC, a communication device that disappeared when a spy ship sank.
10. You Only Live Twice
Rating average: 66
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $307,049,000
Sean Connery returns as Bond, who is on the hunt for a missing space capsule. Its disappearance nearly ignites a global conflict.
9. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Rating average: 67
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $147,824,000
George Lazenby takes on the role of Bond, who struggles with his conscious after falling in love with the daughter of a diabolical global criminal.
8. Thunderball
Rating average: 69.75
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $480,422,000
With SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) holding the world hostage with stolen nukes, Sean Connery’s Bond must recover the warheads.
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
Rating average: 70.75
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $183,760,000
Bond returns, this time played by Roger Moore, on the hunt for a nuclear-armed British sub that has gone missing.
6. GoldenEye
Rating average: 72.25
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $147,824,000
Pierce Brosnan takes on the role of Bond, who finds himself in Russia searching for stolen access codes to GoldenEye, a satellite-based space weapon that could devastate Earth.
5. Dr. No
Rating average: 77.75
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $126,592,000
In the first installment of the legendary franchise, the world meets James Bond (played by Sean Connery), a secret agent who is on a mission to solve the mystery of a fellow agent’s murder.
4. From Russia With Love
Rating average: 79.5
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $192,844,000
Sean Connery’s Bond races against the SPECTRE organization to be the first to find Lektor, a powerful Russian decoding machine.
3. Skyfall
Rating average: 81.75
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $143,448,000
Daniel Craig returns as Bond, who is involved in a horribly botched mission that exposes agents the world over and opens MI6 to attacks.
2. Casino Royale
Rating average: 82
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $183,760,000
Played by Daniel Craig, Bond is on his first-ever mission as a 00, but he must survive a high-stakes poker game orchestrated by a global terror financier.
1. Goldfinger
Rating average: 84.25
Inflation-adjusted earnings: $392,225,000
Bond, played by Sean Connery, is on a mission to stop Auric Goldfinger and his goons from sabotaging the global economy by looting Fort Knox.
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