Based off of the books written by Ian Fleming, the James Bond franchise has been around since the 1950s. The first film was released in 1962 and the 25th installment in the series is set to be released in October of 2021. The iconic movies have gone on to inspire and reshape the spy genre and movies as a whole.

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After all this time, the series has continued on as one of the most profitable movie franchises of all time. Fans of the franchise will get to see Daniel Craig returning to the role of James Bond one last time in the upcoming film, No Time to Die.

10 Spectre Reintroduced A Familiar Villain (6.8)

Dave Bautista 007

After the success of Skyfall, Daniel Craig came back for a fourth film in 2015. The film shows Bond facing the head of SPECTRE, Christoph Waltz's Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who is revealed to be James Bond's foster brother. Spectre also sees Bond falling in love with Madeleine Swann, the daughter of the Casino Royale villain Mr. White.

The end of the film has Bond and Swann driving off together in his Aston Martin. Spectre became the second highest-grossing film in the series with a worldwide box office total of just under $900 million.

9 You Only Live Twice Continued To Explore The Conflict Between Bond & SPECTRE (6.9)

007 Sean Connery

After the character was teased in several of the previous films, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the iconic leader of SPECTRE, finally comes face to face with James Bond. Blofeld survives their skirmish and reappears in later films.

Sean Connery stepped away from the role after the film and was replaced by George Lazenby in the 1969 film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. However, Connery would return to portray the character in Diamonds are Forever in 1971, and 1983's non-Eon produced James Bond film Never Say Never Again, the second movie based off of the novel Thunderball.

8 Thunderball Was Sean Connery's Highest Grossing Film (7.0)

007 James Bond in Thunderball

A year after Goldfinger hit theaters, Sean Connery's fourth film was released. The film's antagonist, Emilio Largo, threatens to detonate an atomic bomb in the United States or in the United Kingdom, unless his financial demands are met. Bond and Dominique "Domino" Derval eventually tack down Largo.

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Domino kills Largo and the civilians of the targeted locations are protected from the threat of destruction. Thunderball also happened to be Connery's most profitable James Bond movie, bringing in a box office total of just over $140 million.

7 The Spy Who Loved Me Introduced The Villain Known As Jaws (7.1)

Jaws 007 James Bond

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Moore starred as 007 in seven films in the series. The Spy Who Loved Me was Moore's third movie and is often regarded as his best. Over the course of the film, Bond engages in a rivalry with the KGB agent known as Major Anya Amasova.

Bond battles with the threat of Karl Stromberg, along with his henchman, Jaws. While the 1977 film cost only $13.5 million to make, The Spy Who Loved Me made over $180 million at the box office.

6 Dr. No Started The Film Series Off On A High Note (7.2)

007 Dr. No

Dr. No, released in 1962, was the first movie in the series and Sean Connery was the first actor to take on the role of 007. The film's villain was Dr. Julius No, who worked for the villainous organization known as SPECTRE.

Sean Connery returned for several sequels and his performance as the character has been met with a high degree of approval from fans and critics alike. The movie made nearly $60 million off of a budget of just over $1 million, resulting in a huge box office success.

5 Pierce Brosnan First Took On The Role In GoldenEye (7.2)

GoldenEye Pierce Brosnan 007

The first of Pierce Brosnan's four films is widely considered his best. The film was released in 1995 and included Judi Dench's first appearance as the character of M. Sean Bean's Alec Trevelyan shifted from a 00 agent and friend of Bond to the main antagonist of the movie. Brosnan's Bond also went up against Xenia Onatopp, played by Famke Janssen.

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Both of the film's villains were killed before the credits rolled. GoldenEye went on to make over $350 million at the global box office with a budget of only $60 million.

4 From Russia With Love Saw Blofeld's First Appearance (7.4)

James Bond 007

The massive success of Dr. No propelled the character of James Bond into the spotlight. As the first sequel in the series, From Russia with Love further explored the organization of SPECTRE. SPECTRE operatives Rosa Klebb and Donald Grant served as Bond's adversaries in the film.

The film features one of the most iconic fight scenes in the series when Grant and Bond are fighting aboard the Orient Express. The film ended up making nearly $80 million off of a budget of just $2 million.

3 Goldfinger Was Sean Connery's Best Film (7.7)

Sean Connery in Goldfinger – James Bond 007

After starring in 2 successful James Bond, Sean Connery's third film proved to be even better. The film saw Bond facing-off against Auric Goldfinger, a man infatuated with gold.

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Goldfinger attempts to raise the value of his gold by setting off a bomb at Fort Knox, causing a large amount of gold in the U.S. to be rendered worthless. Bond puts an end to the villain's plans but is later ambushed on an airplane by Goldfinger. After a struggle, Goldfinger is thrown out of the plane.

james-bond-skyfall

Daniel Craig's third outing as James Bond came in the form of 2012's Skyfall. The film starts off with Bond getting shot while on a mission. He is presumed dead and walks away from his life as a spy. However, Bond eventually returns after learning about an attack on MI6 headquarters.

Javier Bardem's Raoul Silva, a former agent for MI6, acted as the villain of the film. The ending of the film saw the deaths of Silva and M, with Ralph Fiennes's Gareth Mallory taking over the role of M. Skyfall is also the highest-grossing movie of the franchise, bringing in over $1.1 billion.

1 Casino Royale Is The Best Of The Best (8.0)

Daniel Craig 007

Released in 2006, Casino Royale marked Daniel Craig's first appearance as 007. The film acted as a reboot of the series and helped to turn Bond into a more grounded character and less reliant on high-tech gadgets. M sends Bond to participate in a Texas Hold 'Em tournament against Mads Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre.

Aided by Eva Green's Vesper Lynd and Jeffrey Wright's Felix Leiter, Bond wins the tournament. Craig went on to appear in 4 James Bond sequels, including the highly anticipated film, No Time to Die.

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