Spectre: James Bond is back on ITV at 9.35pm on Saturday 22, putting Daniel Craig’s fourth turn as James Bond in front of a television audience again. The 2015 release grossed $880 million worldwide, yet its reputation still divides viewers.
Daniel Craig's fourth Bond outing
Daniel Craig stars as James Bond for the fourth time, with Sam Mendes directing the 24th entry in the series. For ITV, that makes the slot an easy draw: a bankable title with a built-in audience that still carries franchise weight years after release.
The film also remains available to rent on Amazon Prime and Apple TV, so the broadcast does not replace the title’s wider commercial life. It adds another access point for viewers who prefer TV scheduling to paying for a rental, especially for a Bond film that still travels well across platforms.
$880 million and mixed reception
$880 million globally is the headline number attached to Spectre, and it keeps the film in the upper tier of franchise box-office performers. The scale of that total is one reason the film still matters to broadcasters: even a divisive Bond title carries proven reach.
“This is actually one of my favourite movies of all time. I know this is often looked at as one of the least great bond movies, but there's just something about it to me that I love. Well-done action, more serious tone, less dialogue... just so good all around.” Another viewer called it, “Another Mendes masterpiece! This just keeps getting better. Bond is more exposed, more dramatic, and has a more sophisticated ambiance. Fast-paced, as always. Stellar cast all shine convincingly in character. Again, extremely intelligently written and executed.” Those reactions show the split neatly: some viewers respond to the tone and scale, while others still place it below the franchise’s strongest entries.
Christoph Waltz and Blofeld
Christoph Waltz plays Bond’s adversary and the shadowy architect of Spectre, while Léa Seydoux appears as Madeleine Swann. Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci and Ralph Fiennes also appear, giving the film a cast that still reads as premium TV programming.
The story sends Bond outside official channels as he uses fresh intelligence from Q and Moneypenny to locate Mr White, then offers to safeguard White’s daughter in return for information about the syndicate’s head. From there, he exposes a worldwide criminal enterprise controlled by Franz Oberhauser, who goes by the name Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and battles a bureaucratic attempt to seize control of MI6 in London.
That combination explains why Spectre continues to divide audiences even as its commercial case stays strong. If the appeal is the scale, the return of Daniel Craig, and the franchise machinery around James Bond, the criticism comes from a simple mismatch between box-office power and how warmly people rank it against Skyfall and the films that came before.
