Pierce Brosnan’s Best James Bond Movie Is a Sudden Streaming Hit

Released in theaters at a time when the world was witnessing massive geopolitical shifts, the James Bond film GoldenEye remains memorable for multiple reasons. Most importantly, it marked Pierce Brosnan‘s debut as the iconic British spy, who’d previously been played by Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton. Brosnan had large shoes to fill, and he emerged on the other side having been warmly embraced by the audience. The movie itself was a box office hit, and remains an integral part of the millennial movie canon, especially because of the landmark video game that it inspired. GoldenEye recently witnessed a surge in streaming numbers, as it debuted inside the top 15 on the domestic iTunes charts.

According to FlixPatrol, GoldenEye beat out the likes of Fight Club, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, and the recent Austin Butler bomb Caught Stealing. The movie was released three decades ago, in 1995, and was directed by Martin Campbell. GoldenEye was the first James Bond movie to be released after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Cold War had been an integral part of the Bond franchise, but GoldenEye managed to usher the character successfully into a new era. It also marked the debut of Judi Dench as M, a role that she’d go on to play for years.

Produced on a reported budget of $60 million, the movie made more than $350 million at the global box office. It earned mostly positive reviews, and is now sitting at a “certified fresh” 80% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “The first and best Pierce Brosnan Bond film, GoldenEye brings the series into a more modern context, and the result is a 007 entry that’s high-tech, action-packed, and urbane.” Brosnan returned for three more installments — Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day. He was succeeded in the role by Daniel Craig, who debuted in Casino Royale, also directed by Campbell.

James Bond Is Being Rebooted

Craig concluded his tenure as Bond a few years ago with the film No Time to Die. The franchise was sold off to Amazon, and will be rebooted with a new movie directed by Denis Villeneuve. No actor has been cast as Bond yet, although it is said that the producers are looking for a relatively unknown young man in his 30s. The new Bond movie is being written by the very prolific Steven Knight, and will begin production after Villeneuve completes work on Dune: Part Three.

Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.