James Bond is internationally recognised for being the coolest, most stylish secret agent the world has ever known.
007 has undertaken some incredibly challenging tasks, and always stands up in the face of danger. No wonder the film franchise has become one of the world’s most successful, and after the initial release of Dr. No in 1962, it is still just as popular to this day.
Fans across the world are eagerly anticipating the launch of the new James Bond film No Time To Die, and the wait is nearly over as it is due to hit our screens on 30th September.
That’s why here at boohooMAN we’ve poured ourselves a vodka martini (shaken, not stirred) and have delved into what really makes a Bond film great, and who our most beloved portrayals of James Bond himself are.
The world’s favourite James Bond film
| Rank | Film | Year | Bond Actor | Streams for Theme Song (Spotify) | Articles Analysed | Total Engagement | IMBD Rating |
| 1 | Skyfall | 2012 | Daniel Craig | 220,197,655 | 17,173 | 2,548,788 | 7.7 |
| 2 | Casino Royal | 2006 | Daniel Craig | 55,545,691 | 13,740 | 430,289 | 8 |
| 3 | Spectre | 2015 | Daniel Craig | 200,747,192 | 98,424 | 9,011,751 | 6.8 |
| 4 | Goldfinger | 1964 | Sean Connery | 19,307,584 | 11,353 | 1,605,742 | 7.7 |
| 5 | GoldenEye | 1995 | Pierce Brosnan | 17,387,092 | 15,976 | 3,226,987 | 7.2 |
| 6 | For Your Eyes Only | 1981 | Roger Moore | 20,352,794 | 3,952 | 298,183 | 6.7 |
| 7 | From Russia with Love | 1963 | Sean Connery | 10,873,392 | 6,588 | 1,330,097 | 7.4 |
| 8 | Diamonds Are Forever | 1971 | Sean Connery | 20,295,235 | 3,900 | 267,489 | 6.6 |
| 9 | Quantum of Solace | 2008 | Daniel Craig | 33,853,628 | 2,492 | 101,825 | 6.6 |
| 10 | A View to a Kill | 1985 | Roger Moore | 44,945,964 | 1,530 | 207,136 | 6.3 |
| 11 | Dr. No | 1962 | Sean Connery | 17,284,148 | 3,348 | 305,591 | 7.2 |
| 12 | Thunderball | 1965 | Sean Connery | 6,984,338 | 6,207 | 207,455 | 7 |
| 13 | Octopussy | 1983 | Roger Moore | 4,553,608 | 1,921 | 72,380 | 6.5 |
| 14 | Die Another Day | 2002 | Pierce Brosnan | 28,123,276 | 2,308 | 169,971 | 6.1 |
| 15 | Live and Let Die | 1973 | Roger Moore | 86,593,236 | 27 | 2,235 | 6.8 |
| 16 | Moonraker | 1979 | Roger Moore | 6,562,629 | 4,086 | 285,420 | 6.3 |
| 17 | You Only Live Twice | 1967 | Sean Connery | 2,282,067 | 1,878 | 77,773 | 6.9 |
| 18 | The Spy Who Loved Me | 1977 | Roger Moore | 39,312,314 | 1,439 | 94,318 | 7.1 |
| 19 | On Her Majesty’s Secret Service | 1969 | George Lazenby | 7,672,165 | 1,007 | 47,483 | 6.7 |
| 20 | Tomorrow Never Dies | 1997 | Pierce Brosnan | 8,950,606 | 1,634 | 38,320 | 6.5 |
| 21 | The Living Daylights | 1987 | Timothy Dalton | 13,595,002 | 1,452 | 289,971 | 6.7 |
| 22 | The Man with the Golden Gun | 1974 | Roger Moore | 2,731,769 | 962 | 24,062 | 6.7 |
| 23 | The World Is Not Enough | 1999 | Pierce Brosnan | 534,357 | 1,777 | 39,456 | 6.4 |
| 24 | Licence to Kill | 1989 | Timothy Dalton | 6,911,966 | 1,605 | 248,546 | 6.6 |
Skyfall revealed as the world’s favourite Bond film
Our research delved into all things Bond and discovered the world’s favourite James Bond film is Skyfall. Released in 2012, Skyfall follows the adventures of Daniel Craig as Bond in Istanbul as he uncovers an attack on MI6. Skyfall scores a respectable IMDB rating of 7.7 out of 10 and ranked 12th for most loved film by analysing social media sentiment.
Casino Royale falls just shy in second. Released in 2006, Daniel Craig’s first outing as Bond scored the highest IMDB rating at 8 out of 10, and was also the 9th most-loved. Casino Royale follows 007 as he earns his licence to kill and gambles against Le Chiffre, an accountant who finances a terrorist organisation.
Spectre and Goldfinger rank joint-third for the world’s favourite Bond films. Spectre is another Daniel Craig movie first released in 2015. Spectre scores a 6.8 out of 10 rating from IMDB and appeared at 17th on the list of most-loved Bond films, tying with Dr. No. Spectre follows Bond as he ventures to Mexico after he receives a mysterious message from the past.
Goldfinger is the third instalment of the Bond series and first landed on our screens in 1964, with Sean Connery as leading man. This film follows the story of Bond as he investigates the tycoon Auric Goldfinger as he attempts to contaminate the United States Bullion Depository. Not only does Goldfinger score another 7.7 out of 10 on IMDB, it also ranked 14th for most-loved Bond film.
Pierce Brosnan is the world’s most LOVED James Bond
| Bond Actor | NET Worth | Anger % | Love % | Overall Rank |
| Pierce Brosnan | $200,000,000 | 2.00% | 62.00% | 1 |
| Sean Connery | $350,000,000 | 0.00% | 19.00% | 2 |
| Timothy Dalton | $20,000,000 | 1.00% | 62.00% | 2 |
| Roger Moore | $110,000,000 | 1.00% | 26.00% | 4 |
| Daniel Craig | $160,000,000 | 5.00% | 47.00% | 5 |
| George Lazenby | $20,000,000 | 2.00% | 44.00% | 6 |
As part of this research, we also uncovered the world’s best-loved James Bond actors by analysing reactions on social media.
In first place for most-loved Bond actor is Pierce Brosnan, starring in a total of four Bond films including GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies. Brosnan has 62% love reactions (the same as Dalton) and only 2% angry reactions.
Sean Connery is a close second, known for his chic watch collection. Connery has starred in six Bond films, including the first Dr. No. However, although he has 0% angry reactions to his portrayal of the secret agent, Connery only has the lowest amount of love reactions at only 19%.
Timothy Dalton ranks joint-second, starring in only two Bond films, The Living Daylights in 1987 and Licence to Kill in 1989. He has also gained the highest love reactions at 62% and only 1% angry reactions.
Roger Moore comes fourth, despite having starred in seven Bond films: the most out of the lot. Some of his classics include For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy and The Man With The Golden Gun. Moore has a low love reactions score of 26% and angry reactions of 1%.
A surprising inclusion in fifth is Daniel Craig. Recognised for his sharp suits jackets and tactful approach to 007 life, Craig has an impressive 47% love reactions and the highest angry reactions of 5% to his performance as Bond.
Last is George Lazenby, somewhat unsurprisingly, having actually only appeared in one Bond film: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Although he ranks last here, it appears that his efforts as Bond have not gone unnoticed, with a decent 44% love reacts and only 2% angry reacts.
Adele’s ‘Skyfall’ tops the charts as the world’s favourite James Bond theme tune
No James Bond film would be complete without an iconic soundtrack to evoke nostalgia – and give a lucky musician the opportunity of a lifetime. But which Bond themes have been listened to the most by fans?
2012’s Skyfall doesn’t just make it to the top when it comes to the world’s favourite Bond film, as it is also the most streamed Bond theme of all time. With a total of 220,197,655 streams worldwide since its release, the Adele-written and performed song is a great example of how popular Bond themes can be.
Appearing in Spectre, Sam Smith’s Writing’s on the Wall is the second most streamed Bond theme of all time. The song has 200,747,192 streams on Spotify, showing that the more recent themes are clearly the most popular – maybe due to increased ease of listening, or perhaps they’re just straight-up great songs.
Perhaps one of the most iconic Bond themes of all time, Live and Let Die comes in third, gaining 86,593,236 streams after appearing in the Bond film of the same name. Performed by Wings (which included both Paul and Linda McCartney), this song has gone down in history as one of the best Bond themes ever created.
In fourth place is You Know My Name, performed by Chris Cornell. This was the first time an American male had sung the theme to a Bond film, and after appearing in Casino Royale, it has 55,545,691 streams on Spotify, making it one of the most popular Bond themes to have been released.
Completely encapsulating everything ‘80s’ is Duran Duran’s Bond theme, A View to Kill. The theme for the 1985 film of the same name, this song has 44,945,964 streams on Spotify, putting it in fifth place for the world’s favourite Bond theme.
Where does your favourite Bond film, actor and theme fit in this index?
There’s no question that the James Bond franchise has become one of the most popular and recognisable film franchises to have ever been created. With a plethora of incredible music, dramatic fight scenes and charismatic actors taking on the role, the films bring generations together like nothing else.
Ahead of the release of No Time To Die, we wonder where its components will fit into this index – Billie Eilish’s theme has already become extremely popular, and it’s Daniel Craig’s last time taking on the iconic role, so it’s bound to go down in history. No matter where the franchise goes from here, one thing is certain: James Bond has always been, and will always be, one of the most iconic cultural offerings of the 20th and 21st Centuries.
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Methodology
We used different metrics including articles and engagement, sentiment analysis on love and hate reaction % and the IMDB rating for each James Bond movie. From gave each metric a rank, which combined gave us an overall rank to give insight on which is the best Bond movie of all time.
