CARY FUKUNAGA

Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” debuted with $40.1 million in ticket sales in its opening weekend in North America, drawing enough moviegoers to see the thundering sci-fi epic on the big screen despite it also being available in homes.

After over 18 months of pandemic delays, “No Time to Die” opened on target.

Only when Lashana Lynch was in the midst of stunt training did she finally learn just who she would be playing in the James Bond film “No Time to Die.”.

Fifteen years and five films later, Daniel Craig’s tenure as 007 is coming to a close.

The film business is inherently full of starts and stops, but few have experienced the phrase “hurry up and wait” quite like “No Time to Die” director Cary Fukunaga.

The fall movie season -- usually a reliable rhythm and cozy autumn comfort — is this year, like much of the past 18 months, a little disorienting.

“No Time To Die” was originally slated to open in April 2020 but was pushed back to November of that year as the virus swept around the world. It was then delayed again to April 2, 2021. The film from director Cary Joji Fukunaga stars Daniel Craig as 007, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch and Ana de Armas. While mass-vaccination programs in many countries give hope that theaters can reopen, progress on immunization is slow. After the latest Bond delay was announced, Sony said it was pushing back several of its scheduled spring releases.

The release of the James Bond film “No Time To Die” has been delayed again, this time to 2021, because of the effects of COVID-19 on the theatrical business. “No Time To Die” was originally supposed to open in April 2020 but was pushed back to Nov. 12 in the U.K. and Nov. 20 in the U.S. The Walt Disney Co. last week delayed the planned 2020 releases of a handful of major movies until 2021. They include Marvel’s “Black Widow” and Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.” Universal delayed “Candyman” to next year. Some major releases are still planned for 2020.

Prince Charles poses with actor Daniel Craig as he tours the set of the 25th James Bond Film at Pinewood Studios on June 20, 2019, in Iver Heath, England. (CNN) - After four years, Daniel Craig is back as James Bond. "Bond 25" is currently filming at various locations across London, and the studio is giving us a sneak peek of the action on Instagram. After much back and forth about whether he would actually be playing Bond, Craig is on set, posing in front of some horses. Cary Fukunaga is directing.