The James Bond 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 on-going production from 1962 to the present . In that time Eon Productions has produced 24 films, most of them at Pinewood Studios. With a combined gross of over $7 billion to date, the films produced by Eon constitute the fourth-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 family company, Danjaq, has held ownership of the series through Eon, and maintained co-ownership with United Artists 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 to For Your Eyes Only , the films were distributed solely by United Artists. When Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer absorbed United Artists in 1981, MGM/UA Entertainment Co. was formed and distributed the films until 1995. MGM solely distributed three films from 1997 to 2002 after United Artists 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 upcoming 25th film worldwide, which was reported on 25 May 2018 to have been won by Universal Pictures.Independently of the Eon series, there have been three additional productions with the character of James Bond: an American television adaptation, Casino Royale , produced by CBS; a spoof, Casino Royale , produced by Charles K. Feldman; and a remake of Thunderball entitled Never Say Never Again , produced by Jack Schwartzman, who had obtained the rights to the film from McClory.
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