"Broken Bond" - August 13th 1989 (Los Angeles
Times)
Is America's infatuation with James Bond coming to an end? MGM/UA's
latest Bond entry, 'Licence To Kill,' has sold just $28 million
in tickets in four weeks in North America - well below expectations
for the perennially popular 007.
True, 'Licence' has faced formidable summer competition. But
a Bond picture can traditionally be counted on to gross $50-$70
million domestically. 'Licence' isn't building that kind of momentum.
Meanwhile, it's doing unusually big business in foreign markets,
where the series always performs well. What gives? "There
are no easy answers," said Saul Cooper, director of publicity
for producer Cubby Broccoli. "We're being sent a mixed signal
by moviegoers."
Some possibilities: American audiences aren't responding to
the new James Bond, actor Timothy
Dalton. Perhaps they miss the
self-effacing sense of humor Sean Connery and Roger Moore brought
to the role. Bond's trademark outrageous stunts and action are
not the norm in a plethora of other action pictures. Could 007
have become ho-hum to a new generation of action fans?
"All the obvious questions have been asked," Cooper
acknowledged. A UA exec, asking for anonymity, was more direct: "The
American public loves the movies - but they don't love Dalton.
He just isn't clicking..."
