The film series is a British series of spy films based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond, "007", who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. It is one of the longest continually running film series in history, having been in ongoing production from 1962 to the present (with a six-year hiatus between 1989 and 1995). In that time, Eon Productions has produced 25 films as of 2021, most of them at Pinewood Studios. With a combined gross of over $7 billion, the films produced by Eon constitute the fifth-highest-grossing film series. Six actors have portrayed 007 in the Eon series, the latest being Daniel Craig.

Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman co-produced most of the Eon films until 1975, when Broccoli became the sole producer. The single exception during this period was Thunderball, on which Broccoli and Saltzman became executive producers while Kevin McClory produced. From 1984 Broccoli was joined by his stepson Michael G. Wilson as producer and in 1995 Broccoli stepped aside from Eon and was replaced by his daughter Barbara, who has co-produced with Wilson since. Broccoli's (and until 1975, Saltzman's) family company, Danjaq, has held ownership of the series through Eon, and maintained co-ownership with United Artists (UA) since the mid-1970s. The Eon series has seen continuity both in the main actors and in the production crews, with directors, writers, composers, production designers, and others employed through a number of films.

From the release of Dr. No (1962) to For Your Eyes Only (1981), the films were distributed solely by UA. When Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) absorbed UA in 1981, MGM/UA Entertainment Co. was formed and distributed the films until 1995. MGM solely distributed three films from 1997 to 2002 after UA was retired as a mainstream studio. From 2006 to 2015, MGM and Columbia Pictures co-distributed the film series, following the 2004 acquisition of MGM by a consortium led by Columbia's parent company, Sony Pictures. In November 2010, MGM filed for bankruptcy. Following its emergence from insolvency, Columbia became co-production partner of the series with Eon. Sony's distribution rights to the franchise expired in late 2015 with the release of Spectre. In 2017, MGM and Eon offered a one-film contract to co-finance and distribute the 25th film worldwide, which was reported in May 2018 to have been won by Universal Pictures. The 25th film, No Time to Die, was the first and only in the franchise to be distributed by United Artists Releasing (UAR), a joint venture of MGM and Annapurna Pictures, prior to its folding in 2023.

Independently of the Eon series, there have been three additional productions featuring Bond: an American television adaptation, Casino Royale (1954), produced by CBS; a spoof, also titled Casino Royale (1967), produced by Charles K. Feldman; and a remake of Thunderball titled Never Say Never Again (1983), produced by Jack Schwartzman, who had obtained the rights from McClory.

First screen adaptation In 1954 the American CBS television network paid Ian Fleming $1,000 ($ in dollars) for the rights to turn his first novel, Casino Royale, into a one-hour television adventure as part of the dramatic anthology series Climax Mystery Theater, which ran between October 1954 and June 1958. It was adapted for the screen by Anthony Ellis and Charles Bennett; Bennett was well known for his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, including The 39 Steps and Sabotage. Due to the restriction of a one-hour play, the adapted version lost many of the details found in the book, although it retained its violence, particularly in Act III. The hour-long "Casino Royale" episode, which starred American actor Barry Nelson as Bond and Peter Lorre as the villain Le Chiffre, aired on 21 October 1954 as a live production.

Eon Productions

Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman (1962–1964) In 1959 producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli at Warwick Films expressed interest in adapting the Bond novels, but his colleague Irving Allen was unenthusiastic. In June 1961 Fleming sold a six-month option on the film rights to his published and future James Bond novels and short stories to Harry Saltzman, with the exception of Casino Royale, which he had previously sold. Towards the end of Saltzman's option period, screenwriter Wolf Mankowitz introduced him to Broccoli, and Saltzman and Broccoli formed Eon Productions with the intention of making the first Bond film. A number of Hollywood studios did not want to fund the films, finding them "too British" or "too blatantly sexual". Eventually the two signed a deal with United Artists for 100% financial backing and distribution of seven films, with financing of $1 million for the first feature. Saltzman and Broccoli also created the company Danjaq, which was to hold the rights to the films which Eon Productions was to produce.

Eon had originally intended to film Fleming's novel Thunderball first, but Kevin McClory took Fleming to the High Court in London for breach of copyright over the book, and so Eon decided to film Dr. No first.

From the outset, the order in which Eon produced its Bond films differed considerably from the publication sequence of Fleming's Bond novels, and therefore also from the fictional chronology of Bond's life and work which the novels establish.

Dr. No (1962) Eon asked several directors—Bryan Forbes, Guy Green, Val Guest and Guy Hamilton—to helm the film, but all declined, before Terence Young agreed. Eon had originally hired Wolf Mankowitz and Richard Maibaum to write Dr. Nos screenplay, partly because of Mankowitz's help in brokering the deal between Broccoli and Saltzman. An initial draft of the screenplay was rejected because the scriptwriters had made the villain, Dr. No, a monkey, and Mankowitz left the film. Maibaum then undertook a second version, more closely in line with the novel; Johanna Harwood and Berkely Mather then worked on Maibaum's script, with Harwood in particular being described as a script doctor credited with improving the British characterisations.

To play the lead role of Bond, Sean Connery was not Broccoli or Fleming's first choice, but he was selected after Patrick McGoohan had turned down the role, and Eon had rejected Richard Johnson. After Connery was chosen, Terence Young took the actor to his tailor and hairdresser and introduced him to the high life, restaurants, casinos and women of London. In the words of Bond writer Raymond Benson, Young educated the actor "in the ways of being dapper, witty, and above all, cool".

Filming took place on location in Jamaica between 16 January and 21 February 1962; five days later filming began at Pinewood Studios in England with sets designed by Ken Adam, who had previously worked with Broccoli on the 1960 film The Trials of Oscar Wilde. Maurice Binder created the title sequence and introduced the gun barrel motif that appears in all the Eon Bond films. Monty Norman wrote the accompanying soundtrack, which included the "James Bond Theme", heard in the gun barrel sequence and in a calypso medley over the title credits; the theme was described by another Bond film composer, David Arnold, as "bebop-swing vibe coupled with that vicious, dark, distorted electric guitar, definitely an instrument of rock 'n' roll ... it represented everything about the character you would want: It was cocky, swaggering, confident, dark, dangerous, suggestive, sexy, unstoppable. And he did it in two minutes". The theme was arranged by John Barry, who was uncredited for the arrangement but credited for his performance.

From Russia with Love (1963) After the financial success of Dr. No, United Artists doubled the budget offered to Eon Productions to $2 million for the company's next film, From Russia with Love. The film was shot in Europe, which had turned out to be the more profitable market for Dr. No. Most of the crew from the first film returned, with major exceptions being production designer Ken Adam—who went to work on Dr. Strangelove and was replaced by Dr. Nos art director Syd Cain—and title designer Maurice Binder, who was replaced by Robert Brownjohn.

The original screenwriter for the film was Len Deighton, but he was replaced because of his slow progress. Two of the writers from Dr. No, Richard Maibaum and Johanna Harwood, were brought in, with Maibaum being given the sole writing credit and Harwood being credited for "adaptation". From Russia with Love is the first Bond film in the series with John Barry as the primary soundtrack composer, although Lionel Bart wrote the title song "From Russia with Love", sung by Matt Monro. Principal photography began on 1 April 1963 and concluded on 23 August. Filming took place in Turkey, Pinewood Studios and Venice, with Scotland and Switzerland doubling for the Orient Express journey through Eastern Europe.

Goldfinger (1964) While the previous two films had concentrated on the Caribbean and Europe, Goldfinger was chosen by Eon for the third film, with the American cinema market in mind. Because Terence Young was refused a share of the profits, he declined to direct Goldfinger and worked on The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders instead, although he had done some pre-production work before he left. In his place, Eon turned to Guy Hamilton to direct; he was keen to inject elements of humour into the series, have more gadgets and build bigger and more elegant sets.

Eon again turned to Richard Maibaum for the script, although Paul Dehn was later introduced for rewrites. After missing From Russia with Love, Ken Adam returned as production designer. Adam's imagination provided the idea of gold stacked upon gold behind iron bars for the scenes in the United States Bullion Depository. Saltzman disliked the design's resemblance to a prison, but Hamilton liked it enough that it was built.

Robert Brownjohn returned to develop the opening credit sequence, which featured clips of all three Bond films projected on actress Margaret Nolan's body. Its design was inspired by seeing light projecting on people's bodies as they got up and left a cinema. Principal photography on Goldfinger started on in Miami, at the Fontainebleau Hotel; the crew was small, consisting only of Hamilton, Broccoli, Adam and cinematographer Ted Moore. After five days in Florida, production moved to England. The primary location was Pinewood Studios, home to sets including a recreation of the Fontainebleau, the South American city of the pre-title sequence, and both Goldfinger's estate and factory. Ian Fleming visited the set of Goldfinger in he died in August, shortly before the film's release. The second unit filmed in Kentucky, and these shots were edited into scenes filmed at Pinewood. Principal photography then moved to Switzerland for the car chase and additional footage for Goldfinger's factory sequence. Filming wrapped on at Andermatt, after nineteen weeks of shooting.

Kevin McClory (1965)