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COLLECTING 007 – UK Premiere Brochures
WRITTEN & COMPILED BY KEVIN HARPER

Roger Moore holding the Moonraker premiere brochure

These often lavishly produced glossy colour brochures were on sale at the World Charity Premiere of each James Bond film starting with Goldfinger in 1964. The first two James Bond films did not have World Premieres in the sense we know them today. Dr. No (1962) opened at the London Pavilion cinema, Piccadilly Circus on October 5, 1962 where it had four public performances that day. The stars and invited guests attended a gala screening of the film in the evening. Similarly From Russia With Love opened at the ODEON Leicester Square on October 10, 1963; where once again it had already played to paying customers three times before the evening gala performance. No souvenir brochures were produced for these events. Diamonds Are Forever (1971) was the only James Bond film not to have a premiere in London, first screening to the public at the 10.45am performance at the ODEON Leicester Square on December 30, 1971. The Press screening held at the cinema on December 29th had been attended by Sean Connery, who brought along friend Roger Moore as his guest. The film did have a Gala Scottish Premiere at the ODEON Theatre, Clerk Street, Edinburgh on Friday January 14, 1972 with Sean Connery in attendance. Although several James Bond films had opened first in Japan or the USA, they all had Charity ‘premieres’ in London [*indicated below] with stars, crew members and other celebrities attending the screening. Souvenir Brochures were also produced for these events. Usually printed by the charity that would benefit from the event, brochures were generally only available at the premiere and therefore produced in very limited numbers.

ODEON Leicester Square Moonrakrt/Licence To Kill

In later years some charities did make spare copies available after the event in order to raise more money for their cause. Souvenir Brochures were also produced (with similar content) for some of the regional premieres of the films and fewer copies of these appear to have survived. Premiere Brochures still command high prices when they appear in auction, especially those signed by the stars who attended. Premiere Brochures usually consisted of profiles of the cast and crew [often accompanied by stills not seen in any other publication], along with congratulatory messages and advertisements from many of the companies associated with the production. Once again, many of these advertisements were unique to the brochure.

Goldfinger Premiere Brochure Thunderball Premiere Brochure Casino Royale Premiere Brochure

Goldfinger
17 September 1964
World Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square

Thunderball
29 December 1965

Gala Premiere*
London Pavilion & Rialto Cinema

Casino Royale
13 April 1967
Royal World Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square

You Only Live Twice Premiere Brochure On Her Majesty's Secret Service Premiere Brochure Diamonds Are Forever Gala Scottish Premiere Brochure

You Only Live Twice
12 June 1967
Royal World Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square

On Her Majesty's Secret Service
18 December 1969
Royal World Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square

Diamonds Are Forever
14 January 1972
Gala Scottish Premiere
ODEON Theatre, Clerk Street, Edinburgh

Live And Let Die Premiere Brochure The Man With The Golden Gun Premiere Brochure The Spy Who Loved Me Premiere Brochure

Live And Let Die
5 July 1973
Royal World Charity Premiere*
ODEON Leicester Square

The Man With The Golden Gun
19 December 1974
Royal Charity Premiere*
ODEON Leicester Square

The Spy Who Loved Me
7 July 1977
Royal Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square

Moonraker Premiere Brochure For Your Eyes Only Premiere Brochure Octopussy Premiere Brochure

Moonraker
26 June 1979
Royal World Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square

For Your Eyes Only
24 June 1981
Royal World Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square

Octopussy
6 June 1983
Royal World Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square

Never Say Never Again Premiere Brochure A View To A Kill Premiere Brochure The Living Daylights Premiere Brochure

Never Say Never Again
14 December 1983
Royal Charity Premiere*
Warner Theatre Leicester Square

A View To A Kill
12 June 1985
Royal Charity Premiere*
ODEON Leicester Square

The Living Daylights
29 June 1987
Royal World Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square

Licence To Kill Premiere Brochure GoldenEye Premiere Brochure Tomorrow Never Dies Premiere Brochure

Licence To Kill
13 June 1989
Royal World Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square

GoldenEye (1995)
21 November 1995
Royal European Charity Premiere*
ODEON Leicester Square

Tomorrow Never Dies
9 December 1997
World Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square

The World Is Not Enough Premiere Brochure Die Another Day Premiere Brochure

Die Another Day (2002), Casino Royale (2006) and Spectre (2015) were also chosen as the Royal Film Performance. The event has been held annually since 1946 in aid of the Film & Television Charity, formerly the Cinema & Television Benevolent Fund. The event is used to showcase a major film premiere and is attended by members of the British Royal Family. The proceeds from the event enable the charity to offer financial support to people associated with the screen industries.

The Royal Film Performances for Die Another Day (2002) and Spectre (2015) were held at the Royal Albert Hall instead of London's ODEON Leicester Square. 2002 also marked the 40th anniversary of James Bond in the cinema. The premiere of Die Another Day was attended by Pierce Brosnan and three former James Bond's George Lazenby, Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton along with other actors and celebrities associated with the series over its 40 year history.

The World Is Not Enough
22 November 1999
European Charity Premiere*
ODEON Leicester Square
Die Another Day
18 November 2002
The Royal Film Performance
The Royal Albert Hall
 
Casino Royale Premiere Brochure

Quantum of Solace Premiere Brochure

Casino Royale
 14 November 2006
The Sixtieth Royal Film Performance
ODEON Leicester Square, and simultaneously at the Empire & ODEON West End

Quantum of Solace
29 October 2008
The Royal World Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square

Skyfall Premiere Brochure Spectre Premiere Brochure

No Time To Die Premiere Brochure

Skyfall
23 October 2012
The Royal World Premiere
The Royal Albert Hall
Spectre
26 October 2015
The CTBF Royal Film Performance
The Royal Albert Hall
No Time To Die
28 September 2021
The Royal World Premiere
The Royal Albert Hall

Selected UK Regional Premiere Brochures

Several James Bond films also had regional charity premieres but not all of these had souvenir brochures produced. Although Thunderball had opened in London on December 29, 1965 and in major cities across the UK in January 1966, it did not have its general release until mid-February. The Midlands premiere of Thunderball took place at the ODEON cinema, New Street in Birmingham on Saturday February 5, 1966. 2,400 people attended the midnight premiere which raised over £2,000 for the Birmingham and District Committees of the Drapers Cottage Homes charity. A 28-page souvenir brochure was on sale at the premiere with a cover price of at least 2s/6d (the equivalent of 30p today), which indicates that most people paid far more than the suggested amount for their copy. A rare surviving copy of the brochure sold for £500 at auction in 2015.

Thunderball regional premiere brochure tie-in/Aston Martin advert Leeds

The Northern Charity Premiere of Thunderball was held at the ODEON Theatre on The Headrow in Leeds on Saturday February 19, 1966. 40-page individually numbered souvenir brochures were produced featuring similar content to the London and Dublin premieres. Actress Mollie Peters (who played Nurse Patricia Fearing in Thunderball) attended this event as part of a promotional tour she undertook throughout early 1966. Staying the weekend in Leeds, she then attended a press call and reception at the Arnold G. Wilson Ltd. Aston Martin showroom on Monday February 21, 1966. The showroom also had the B.S.A. Rocket-Firing Motor Cycle on display following its appearance at the Thomas Wallis department store in London's Oxford Street. Department stores took the opportunity to advertise in the regional premiere brochures with James Bond related tie-ins. You Only Live Twice did not have its general release in the UK until long after its London Premiere on June 12, 1967. Several cities held special midnight premieres in September 1967, including the ODEON Glasgow on the last day of the month.

By the time Pierce Brosnan took over as James Bond in 1995, UK cinema release patterns had been standardised, and new films generally opened countrywide on the Friday following the London premiere. Several cities did hold regional premieres in aid of charity on the day after the London openings of GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough with generic souvenir programmes produced and tailored to the specific charity named as the beneficiary. With new films now opening at the same time across the country, the appeal of a regional premiere has been somewhat diminished.

The Cottage Homes Premiere Thunderball (1966)

Thunderball Northern Charity Premiere Souvenir Programme

You Only Live Twice Glasgow Gala Charity Premiere Brochure

Thunderball
5 February 1966

Midlands Charity Premiere
ODEON Cinema, New, Street, Birmingham
Thunderball
19 February 1966

Northern Charity Premiere
ODEON Theatre, The Headrow, Leeds
You Only Live Twice
30 September 1967
Gala Charity Premiere
ODEON Theatre, Glasgow
 GoldenEye Regional Charity Premiere Souvenir Programme Tomorrow Never Dies Regional Charity Premiere Brochure The World Is Not Enough Regional Charity Premiere Brochure
GoldenEye
23 November 1999
Regional Charity Premiere
Various locations
Tomorrow Never Dies
10 December 1997
Regional Charity Premiere
Various locations
The World Is Not Enough
23 November 1999
Regional Charity Premiere
Various locations

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