Thunderball
As James Bond falls into his fourth journey packed with intense confrontations and incredible underwater action scenes, the thrills never give up. Connery introduces his signature style and magnetism to 007 when he goes beyond the call of duty – and to the depths of the ocean – as he flies to Nassau to hunt down the villainous terrorist Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi), who wants to plunge the planet into a nuclear holocaust.
Thunderball
(tie) You Only Live Twice (1967)
Budget: $9.5 million
Worldwide Box Office: $111.6 million
Rate of Return: 11.74
Sean Connery was essentially on autopilot here, and both offensive (for obvious reasons) and a waste of time is the entire “James Bond becomes Japanese” subplot. This large-budget offering, the first directed by Lewis Gilbert, would set the template for several future 007 entries and a whole genre of spoofs from James Bond. Blofeld (played by Donald Pleasence) was introduced, and its volcano layer and the climactic finale of “bad guys versus ninjas” are still pretty spectacular.
(tie) You Only Live Twice (1967)