What did Amazon pay for creative control of James Bond IP? $20m, or $1bn?
3 Nov 2025
Author
Martin Croft
PR & Communications Manager
Photo by Matthew Wiebe on Unsplash and Amazon Press centre
What did Amazon MGM Studios actually pay for full creative control of the IP behind the James Bond film franchise back in April 2025? Was it $1bn – or $20m?
Media reports at the time of the deal quoted ‘insiders’ as saying the figure was around $1bn: but Eon Productions, the company which owned the film IP and production rights, has just published its accounts – and those suggest the amount was $20m.
The Directors’ Report which accompanies Eon’s annual accounts for the year to end December 2024 mentions the sale:
“Looking ahead, a significant strategic shift is anticipated following the post-year-end sale of the Group's interest in the Bond franchise, subsidiaries and related assets. This divestment marks a significant change in the Group's direction. The core focus going forward will be the continued investment in smaller-scale films and independent productions.”
The cash figure that Eon is banking for Bond, however, is hidden in the Notes to the Financial statements at the end of the accounts, under the heading ‘Post balance sheet events’:
“On 20 February 2025, the company entered into an agreement for the sale of its interest in the Bond franchise, all associated assets as well as its subsidiary companies, B24 Limited and B25 Limited. The total consideration for the sale amounted to $20 million (USD).”
Eon is based in the UK, and is required by UK law to files reports and accounts and related financial documents with Companies House. Eon’s directors, Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, are the children of the late film producer Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli, who was behind the 1962 film Dr No, the first Bond picture to star Sean Connery. The companies they co-ran, Danjaq, which was the holding company for James Bond’s IP, and Eon Productions have been involved in almost every Bond film since.
Then there is the issue of whether Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, or Eon Productions, may be in line for further payments from Amazon MGM, perhaps in the form of ‘earn outs or even payment on results.
The deal between Amazon MGM Studios, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, which was announced in February 2025, was for the creation of a new joint venture to house the James Bond film-related intellectual property rights, with all three parties co-owners of the franchise, an Eon statement said at the time.
It seems that the new joint venture company is up and running, under the name London Operations, LLC, which was recently set up in Culver City, California (once home for the MGM film studios). London Operations is now applying to register as trademarks: James Bond; Shaken Not Stirred; the 007 gun logo; and 007 First Light (which references a computer game being launched next year).
The $20m Eon has flagged in its latest accounts may just be for the transfer of creative control over the film rights, with Eon, Danjaq or Cubby Broccoli’s heirs being entitled to further payments in the future, and/or to a stake in the joint venture company.
That’s what US website Deadline, which covers the film, TV and music industry, suggests:
“Sources say that Amazon’s deal with EON is structured as a joint venture, and over time the Broccoli company is going to get paid. Amazon has the majority stake. The $20m is believed to be an initial payment, with EON getting recompensed in different ways over time. This payment [the $20m reported by Eon in its UK filing] was part of the deal, not the entirety of the deal.”
Perhaps it’s appropriate that the murky world of a famous fictional spy should be surrounded by mystery; but this disclosure of a $20m payment by Amazon may not be the end of the story.
Amazon acquired MGM in 2022, paying $8.5bn for the studio – but media reports suggest that some experts put the value at between $3.4bn to $4bn. The MGM acquisition did mean Amazon had the rights to distribute all the Eon-produced James Bond films, in itself a potential goldmine – so far, the franchise has generated an estimated $19bn in box office sale since 1962 (adjusted for current prices).
In addition to its rights to the Eon-produced James Bond films, MGM’s catalogue comprises more than 4,000 film titles and 17,000 TV episodes, including other film franchises like Rocky, The Pink Panther, and Legally Blonde, and TV shows including The Handmaid’s Tale, Fargo, and Vikings.
Crucially, the Danjaq/Eon deal means Amazon MGM Studios gets to decide plots and titles for the next films in the Bond franchise, and will select writers, producers, directors and stars.
It has already signed Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, currently working on the Dune film franchise, to direct the next, as yet un-named, Bond film. Villeneuve will start working on the project in 2026, kicking off a search for a new actor to replace Daniel Craig, who bowed out of the role after 2021’s No Time to Die.
While there are two Bond films which are not part of the Eon-produced series for various reasons – the original Casino Royale (1961) and 1983’s Never Say Never Again – MGM later acquired distribution rights for both films, so technically Amazon MGM owns all Bond film rights.
However, it does not own rights for the actual books. Ian Fleming Publications (the rights management company which used to be owned by Fleming) owns the copyright for existing James Bond books and related written material (such as e-books).
Fleming died in 1964, so the copyright on his original books will expire in the UK on January 1, 2035. But Ian Fleming Publications has been actively commissioning new Bond novels from a range of authors (with significant sales), as well as licensing a series of Young James Bond books, so it will continue to profit from Bond books well beyond 2035.
Photo by Matthew Wiebe on Unsplash and Amazon Press centre
What did Amazon MGM Studios actually pay for full creative control of the IP behind the James Bond film franchise back in April 2025? Was it $1bn – or $20m?
Media reports at the time of the deal quoted ‘insiders’ as saying the figure was around $1bn: but Eon Productions, the company which owned the film IP and production rights, has just published its accounts – and those suggest the amount was $20m.
The Directors’ Report which accompanies Eon’s annual accounts for the year to end December 2024 mentions the sale:
“Looking ahead, a significant strategic shift is anticipated following the post-year-end sale of the Group's interest in the Bond franchise, subsidiaries and related assets. This divestment marks a significant change in the Group's direction. The core focus going forward will be the continued investment in smaller-scale films and independent productions.”
The cash figure that Eon is banking for Bond, however, is hidden in the Notes to the Financial statements at the end of the accounts, under the heading ‘Post balance sheet events’:
“On 20 February 2025, the company entered into an agreement for the sale of its interest in the Bond franchise, all associated assets as well as its subsidiary companies, B24 Limited and B25 Limited. The total consideration for the sale amounted to $20 million (USD).”
Eon is based in the UK, and is required by UK law to files reports and accounts and related financial documents with Companies House. Eon’s directors, Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, are the children of the late film producer Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli, who was behind the 1962 film Dr No, the first Bond picture to star Sean Connery. The companies they co-ran, Danjaq, which was the holding company for James Bond’s IP, and Eon Productions have been involved in almost every Bond film since.
Then there is the issue of whether Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, or Eon Productions, may be in line for further payments from Amazon MGM, perhaps in the form of ‘earn outs or even payment on results.
The deal between Amazon MGM Studios, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, which was announced in February 2025, was for the creation of a new joint venture to house the James Bond film-related intellectual property rights, with all three parties co-owners of the franchise, an Eon statement said at the time.
It seems that the new joint venture company is up and running, under the name London Operations, LLC, which was recently set up in Culver City, California (once home for the MGM film studios). London Operations is now applying to register as trademarks: James Bond; Shaken Not Stirred; the 007 gun logo; and 007 First Light (which references a computer game being launched next year).
The $20m Eon has flagged in its latest accounts may just be for the transfer of creative control over the film rights, with Eon, Danjaq or Cubby Broccoli’s heirs being entitled to further payments in the future, and/or to a stake in the joint venture company.
That’s what US website Deadline, which covers the film, TV and music industry, suggests:
“Sources say that Amazon’s deal with EON is structured as a joint venture, and over time the Broccoli company is going to get paid. Amazon has the majority stake. The $20m is believed to be an initial payment, with EON getting recompensed in different ways over time. This payment [the $20m reported by Eon in its UK filing] was part of the deal, not the entirety of the deal.”
Perhaps it’s appropriate that the murky world of a famous fictional spy should be surrounded by mystery; but this disclosure of a $20m payment by Amazon may not be the end of the story.
Amazon acquired MGM in 2022, paying $8.5bn for the studio – but media reports suggest that some experts put the value at between $3.4bn to $4bn. The MGM acquisition did mean Amazon had the rights to distribute all the Eon-produced James Bond films, in itself a potential goldmine – so far, the franchise has generated an estimated $19bn in box office sale since 1962 (adjusted for current prices).
In addition to its rights to the Eon-produced James Bond films, MGM’s catalogue comprises more than 4,000 film titles and 17,000 TV episodes, including other film franchises like Rocky, The Pink Panther, and Legally Blonde, and TV shows including The Handmaid’s Tale, Fargo, and Vikings.
Crucially, the Danjaq/Eon deal means Amazon MGM Studios gets to decide plots and titles for the next films in the Bond franchise, and will select writers, producers, directors and stars.
It has already signed Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, currently working on the Dune film franchise, to direct the next, as yet un-named, Bond film. Villeneuve will start working on the project in 2026, kicking off a search for a new actor to replace Daniel Craig, who bowed out of the role after 2021’s No Time to Die.
While there are two Bond films which are not part of the Eon-produced series for various reasons – the original Casino Royale (1961) and 1983’s Never Say Never Again – MGM later acquired distribution rights for both films, so technically Amazon MGM owns all Bond film rights.
However, it does not own rights for the actual books. Ian Fleming Publications (the rights management company which used to be owned by Fleming) owns the copyright for existing James Bond books and related written material (such as e-books).
Fleming died in 1964, so the copyright on his original books will expire in the UK on January 1, 2035. But Ian Fleming Publications has been actively commissioning new Bond novels from a range of authors (with significant sales), as well as licensing a series of Young James Bond books, so it will continue to profit from Bond books well beyond 2035.
Photo by Matthew Wiebe on Unsplash and Amazon Press centre
What did Amazon MGM Studios actually pay for full creative control of the IP behind the James Bond film franchise back in April 2025? Was it $1bn – or $20m?
Media reports at the time of the deal quoted ‘insiders’ as saying the figure was around $1bn: but Eon Productions, the company which owned the film IP and production rights, has just published its accounts – and those suggest the amount was $20m.
The Directors’ Report which accompanies Eon’s annual accounts for the year to end December 2024 mentions the sale:
“Looking ahead, a significant strategic shift is anticipated following the post-year-end sale of the Group's interest in the Bond franchise, subsidiaries and related assets. This divestment marks a significant change in the Group's direction. The core focus going forward will be the continued investment in smaller-scale films and independent productions.”
The cash figure that Eon is banking for Bond, however, is hidden in the Notes to the Financial statements at the end of the accounts, under the heading ‘Post balance sheet events’:
“On 20 February 2025, the company entered into an agreement for the sale of its interest in the Bond franchise, all associated assets as well as its subsidiary companies, B24 Limited and B25 Limited. The total consideration for the sale amounted to $20 million (USD).”
Eon is based in the UK, and is required by UK law to files reports and accounts and related financial documents with Companies House. Eon’s directors, Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, are the children of the late film producer Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli, who was behind the 1962 film Dr No, the first Bond picture to star Sean Connery. The companies they co-ran, Danjaq, which was the holding company for James Bond’s IP, and Eon Productions have been involved in almost every Bond film since.
Then there is the issue of whether Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, or Eon Productions, may be in line for further payments from Amazon MGM, perhaps in the form of ‘earn outs or even payment on results.
The deal between Amazon MGM Studios, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, which was announced in February 2025, was for the creation of a new joint venture to house the James Bond film-related intellectual property rights, with all three parties co-owners of the franchise, an Eon statement said at the time.
It seems that the new joint venture company is up and running, under the name London Operations, LLC, which was recently set up in Culver City, California (once home for the MGM film studios). London Operations is now applying to register as trademarks: James Bond; Shaken Not Stirred; the 007 gun logo; and 007 First Light (which references a computer game being launched next year).
The $20m Eon has flagged in its latest accounts may just be for the transfer of creative control over the film rights, with Eon, Danjaq or Cubby Broccoli’s heirs being entitled to further payments in the future, and/or to a stake in the joint venture company.
That’s what US website Deadline, which covers the film, TV and music industry, suggests:
“Sources say that Amazon’s deal with EON is structured as a joint venture, and over time the Broccoli company is going to get paid. Amazon has the majority stake. The $20m is believed to be an initial payment, with EON getting recompensed in different ways over time. This payment [the $20m reported by Eon in its UK filing] was part of the deal, not the entirety of the deal.”
Perhaps it’s appropriate that the murky world of a famous fictional spy should be surrounded by mystery; but this disclosure of a $20m payment by Amazon may not be the end of the story.
Amazon acquired MGM in 2022, paying $8.5bn for the studio – but media reports suggest that some experts put the value at between $3.4bn to $4bn. The MGM acquisition did mean Amazon had the rights to distribute all the Eon-produced James Bond films, in itself a potential goldmine – so far, the franchise has generated an estimated $19bn in box office sale since 1962 (adjusted for current prices).
In addition to its rights to the Eon-produced James Bond films, MGM’s catalogue comprises more than 4,000 film titles and 17,000 TV episodes, including other film franchises like Rocky, The Pink Panther, and Legally Blonde, and TV shows including The Handmaid’s Tale, Fargo, and Vikings.
Crucially, the Danjaq/Eon deal means Amazon MGM Studios gets to decide plots and titles for the next films in the Bond franchise, and will select writers, producers, directors and stars.
It has already signed Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, currently working on the Dune film franchise, to direct the next, as yet un-named, Bond film. Villeneuve will start working on the project in 2026, kicking off a search for a new actor to replace Daniel Craig, who bowed out of the role after 2021’s No Time to Die.
While there are two Bond films which are not part of the Eon-produced series for various reasons – the original Casino Royale (1961) and 1983’s Never Say Never Again – MGM later acquired distribution rights for both films, so technically Amazon MGM owns all Bond film rights.
However, it does not own rights for the actual books. Ian Fleming Publications (the rights management company which used to be owned by Fleming) owns the copyright for existing James Bond books and related written material (such as e-books).
Fleming died in 1964, so the copyright on his original books will expire in the UK on January 1, 2035. But Ian Fleming Publications has been actively commissioning new Bond novels from a range of authors (with significant sales), as well as licensing a series of Young James Bond books, so it will continue to profit from Bond books well beyond 2035.
Photo by Matthew Wiebe on Unsplash and Amazon Press centre
What did Amazon MGM Studios actually pay for full creative control of the IP behind the James Bond film franchise back in April 2025? Was it $1bn – or $20m?
Media reports at the time of the deal quoted ‘insiders’ as saying the figure was around $1bn: but Eon Productions, the company which owned the film IP and production rights, has just published its accounts – and those suggest the amount was $20m.
The Directors’ Report which accompanies Eon’s annual accounts for the year to end December 2024 mentions the sale:
“Looking ahead, a significant strategic shift is anticipated following the post-year-end sale of the Group's interest in the Bond franchise, subsidiaries and related assets. This divestment marks a significant change in the Group's direction. The core focus going forward will be the continued investment in smaller-scale films and independent productions.”
The cash figure that Eon is banking for Bond, however, is hidden in the Notes to the Financial statements at the end of the accounts, under the heading ‘Post balance sheet events’:
“On 20 February 2025, the company entered into an agreement for the sale of its interest in the Bond franchise, all associated assets as well as its subsidiary companies, B24 Limited and B25 Limited. The total consideration for the sale amounted to $20 million (USD).”
Eon is based in the UK, and is required by UK law to files reports and accounts and related financial documents with Companies House. Eon’s directors, Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, are the children of the late film producer Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli, who was behind the 1962 film Dr No, the first Bond picture to star Sean Connery. The companies they co-ran, Danjaq, which was the holding company for James Bond’s IP, and Eon Productions have been involved in almost every Bond film since.
Then there is the issue of whether Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, or Eon Productions, may be in line for further payments from Amazon MGM, perhaps in the form of ‘earn outs or even payment on results.
The deal between Amazon MGM Studios, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, which was announced in February 2025, was for the creation of a new joint venture to house the James Bond film-related intellectual property rights, with all three parties co-owners of the franchise, an Eon statement said at the time.
It seems that the new joint venture company is up and running, under the name London Operations, LLC, which was recently set up in Culver City, California (once home for the MGM film studios). London Operations is now applying to register as trademarks: James Bond; Shaken Not Stirred; the 007 gun logo; and 007 First Light (which references a computer game being launched next year).
The $20m Eon has flagged in its latest accounts may just be for the transfer of creative control over the film rights, with Eon, Danjaq or Cubby Broccoli’s heirs being entitled to further payments in the future, and/or to a stake in the joint venture company.
That’s what US website Deadline, which covers the film, TV and music industry, suggests:
“Sources say that Amazon’s deal with EON is structured as a joint venture, and over time the Broccoli company is going to get paid. Amazon has the majority stake. The $20m is believed to be an initial payment, with EON getting recompensed in different ways over time. This payment [the $20m reported by Eon in its UK filing] was part of the deal, not the entirety of the deal.”
Perhaps it’s appropriate that the murky world of a famous fictional spy should be surrounded by mystery; but this disclosure of a $20m payment by Amazon may not be the end of the story.
Amazon acquired MGM in 2022, paying $8.5bn for the studio – but media reports suggest that some experts put the value at between $3.4bn to $4bn. The MGM acquisition did mean Amazon had the rights to distribute all the Eon-produced James Bond films, in itself a potential goldmine – so far, the franchise has generated an estimated $19bn in box office sale since 1962 (adjusted for current prices).
In addition to its rights to the Eon-produced James Bond films, MGM’s catalogue comprises more than 4,000 film titles and 17,000 TV episodes, including other film franchises like Rocky, The Pink Panther, and Legally Blonde, and TV shows including The Handmaid’s Tale, Fargo, and Vikings.
Crucially, the Danjaq/Eon deal means Amazon MGM Studios gets to decide plots and titles for the next films in the Bond franchise, and will select writers, producers, directors and stars.
It has already signed Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, currently working on the Dune film franchise, to direct the next, as yet un-named, Bond film. Villeneuve will start working on the project in 2026, kicking off a search for a new actor to replace Daniel Craig, who bowed out of the role after 2021’s No Time to Die.
While there are two Bond films which are not part of the Eon-produced series for various reasons – the original Casino Royale (1961) and 1983’s Never Say Never Again – MGM later acquired distribution rights for both films, so technically Amazon MGM owns all Bond film rights.
However, it does not own rights for the actual books. Ian Fleming Publications (the rights management company which used to be owned by Fleming) owns the copyright for existing James Bond books and related written material (such as e-books).
Fleming died in 1964, so the copyright on his original books will expire in the UK on January 1, 2035. But Ian Fleming Publications has been actively commissioning new Bond novels from a range of authors (with significant sales), as well as licensing a series of Young James Bond books, so it will continue to profit from Bond books well beyond 2035.
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Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2025. All rights reserved.
Inngot's online platform identifies all your intangible assets and demonstrates their value to lenders, investors, acquirers, licensees and stakeholders
Accreditations
Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2025. All rights reserved.
Inngot's online platform identifies all your intangible assets and demonstrates their value to lenders, investors, acquirers, licensees and stakeholders
Accreditations
Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2025. All rights reserved.
Inngot's online platform identifies all your intangible assets and demonstrates their value to lenders, investors, acquirers, licensees and stakeholders
Accreditations
Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2025. All rights reserved.