1983 saw the Battle of the Bonds at the box office, with Sean Connery and Roger Moore both starring in new films about Britain's favorite spy. MI6 agent 007, aka James Bond, is one of the most iconic film characters ever, far surpassing the notoriety of even Ian Fleming's literary character that inspired him. Unlike many iconic characters, which become so attached to their original portrayer that trying to recast the role is a fool's errand, Bond has proven quite resistant to the perils of actor turnover.
Seven different actors have played James Bond on the big screen to date, and there's absolutely no reason to expect that line to stop growing anytime soon. No Time to Die, the 25th officially sanctioned Bond film, looks to serve as Daniel Craig's 007 swansong later this year after five movies in the lead, but Craig's exit definitely won't be Bond's end. There's a large crop of dashing actors out there who would love nothing more than to get a taste of playing Bond on the big screen after Craig steps aside.
Back in 1983 though, there happened an occurrence so rare that it's only taken place two times in the entire history of the Bond franchise. A new official Bond installment released to theaters in the same year that another Bond project, this one not produced by Eon Productions, also came out, pitting Bond against Bond at the box office.
June 6, 1983 saw the theatrical release of Eon's Octopussy, the second to last James Bond film starring Roger Moore, who was the third actor to play 007 after Sean Connery and George Lazenby. Moore was in his mid-50s by this point and had been facing criticism that he was too old to play Bond. That same criticism would face Connery himself on October 7, 1983, when the original Bond actor stepped back into the role for Never Say Never Again, a non-Eon film that served to re-adapt Thunderball thanks to a quirk in the movie rights. Connery was only a few years younger than Moore, and since he had starred in the first Thunderball, the whole project seemed a bit strange. At the same time, many fans were interested to see Connery suit up as Bond again.
When it comes to which of the two 1983 Bond films was the best, there's no real clear-cut answer. Neither is generally regarded as top-tier Bond, and both received decidedly mixed reviews at the time of release. The box office totals do provide a clear winner, although not in blowout fashion. Octopussy's production budget was $27.5 million, while Never Say Never Again's budget was significantly higher, at $36 million. One wonders how much of that gap was Connery's salary. Either way, Octopussy went on to earn $187.5 million in theaters, while Never Say Never Again would pull in $160 million. Those profit margins are enough to make both 1983 James Bond movies hits, but Moore surprisingly edged Connery out by a fairly narrow sum.
