According to HitFix 2015 may a very competitive, perhaps the most competitive movie year ever for James Bond: http://www.hitfix.com/news/24-films-that-may-make-2015-the-greatest-movie-year-ever. A list of movies agent 007 needs to compete with that year:
in blue --> The movies that will pass the $1.50 Billion Dollar mark
in green --> The movies that will pass the $1.00 Billion Dollar mark
in purple --> The movies that will pass the $750 Million Dollar mark
in red --> The movies that will pass the $500 Million Dollar mark
The "Big Blockbuster Potentials" of 2015 ("SPECTRE" included):
06.02.2015: "Jupiter Ascending" (sci-fi, adventure) --> with Mila Kunis
27.03.2015: "Cinderella" (fantasy, adventure) --> Maleficent? Alice? It works
01.05.2015: "Avengers 2: Age Of Ultron" (action, sci-fi, adventure) --> Marvel adaptation
15.05.2015: "Mad Max: Fury Road" (sci-fi, action) --> with Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron
22.05.2015: "Tomorrowland" (sci-fi, family) --> Disney, directed by Brad Bird
12.06.2015: "Jurassic World" (sci-fi, horror) --> with Chris Pratt
19.06.2015: "Inside Out" (animation, family) --> first Pixar movie since 2013
01.07.2015: "Terminator 5: Genisys" (sci-fi, action) --> with Arnie Schwarzenegger
10.07.2015: "Minions" (animation, family) --> spin-off to Despicable Me
17.07.2015: "Ant-Man" (action, sci-fi, adventure) --> Marvel adaptation
24.07.2015: "Pan" (fantasy, adventure) -- > with Hugh Jackman & Rooney Mara
07.08.2015: "The Fantastic Four 3" (action, sci-fi, adventure) -- > Marvel adaptation
???.09.2015: "The Hateful Eight" (western, crime) --> directed by Quentin Tarantino
23.09.2015: "Hotel Transylvania 2" (animation, family) --> Sony's own franchise
09.10.2015: "The Jungle Book" (animation, family) --> animation from Disney
16.10.2015: "Crimson Peak" (horror) --> directed by Guillermo del Toro
06.11.2015: "Bond 24: SPECTRE" (espionage, thriller) --> directed by Sam Mendes
06.11.2015: "Peanuts" (animation, family) --> Snoopy returns!
20.11.2015: "The Hunger Games 4: Mockinjay Prt. 2" (sci-fi, romance) --> sci-fi/romance works
24.11.2015: "The Martian" (sci-fi, drama) --> directed by Ridley Scott
25.11.2015: "The Good Dinosaur" (animation, family) --> second Pixar movie since 2013
18.12.2015: "Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens" (sci-fi, adventure) --> need I say more?
The "Spy/Action" movies of 2015 ("SPECTRE" included):
09.01.2015: "Taken 3" (action, thriller) --> with Liam Neeson, already very good reviews
16.01.2015: "Blackhat" (espionage, thriller) --> with Chris Hemsworth
13.02.2015: "Kingsman: The Secret Service" (action, spy spoof) --> director Matthew Vaughn
20.03.2015: "The Gunman" (espionage, thriller) --> with Javier Bardem
03.04.2015: "Furious 7" (action, thriller) --> with the late Paul Walker
22.05.2015: "Spy" (spy spoof) --> with Melissa McCarthy as Susan Cooper
25.12.2015: "Mission: Impossible 5" (espionage, thriller) --> with Tom Cruise
31.07.2015: "Grimsby" (spy spoof) --> with Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Strong and Penélope Cruz (!)
14.08.2015: "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." (espionage, action) --> directed by Guy Ritchie
28.08.2015: "Hitman 2: Agent 47" (action, thriller) --> with Zachary Quinto
02.10.2015: "London Has Fallen" (action, thriller) --> with Morgan Freeman
16.10.2015: "St. James Place" (espionage, thriller) --> director Steven Spielberg
06.11.2015: "Bond 24: SPECTRE" (espionage, thriller) --> directed by Sam Mendes
12.11.2015: "Survivor" (espionage, thriller) --> with Pierce Brosnan, director James McTeigue
Interesting to know....there's a poll attached to the article from HitFix: "Which five scheduled releases in 2015 are you most looking forward to?"
Current TOP 5 results are:
01) 'Avengers 2: Age of Ultron' (3D, superhero/fantasy)
02) 'Star Wars - Episode 7' (3D, sci-fi)
03) 'James Bond 24' (action/espionage)
04) 'Superman vs. Batman' (3D, superhero/fantasy)
05) 'Avatar 2' (3D, sci-fi)
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Followed by: 'Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2' (sci-fi/fantasy), 'Pixar's Finding Dory' (3D, animation) & 'Ant-Man' (superhero/adventure)
My conclusion thus far: Despite 2015 becoming one of the most competitive movie years ever, I still think the poll news bodes well for James Bond. Yes, agent 007 will get stiff competition. But please take in mind that Sam Mendes is back with his crew. And the big media attention and critical acclaim 'Skyfall' received, will also put 'Bond 24' in the potential 'One Billion Dollar Movie' column. Perhaps the 'One Billion Dollar Film' becomes more frequent, but that's not a negative feature I think. The biggest competitor for 'Bond 24' could be the first cinematic appearance of 'Marvel's Ant-Man'. Luckily the big audiences haven't heard much from Ant-Man before and it's one of the more unknown Marvel characters. Plus....will the audiences in 2015 not be slightly tired of super heroes?
Movie criticist Gregory Ellwood: " 'Skyfall' was arguably the most critically acclaimed Bond film ever. It won the series its first Oscar (and most nominations for one film) and stunned with a massive $1.1 billion. After patiently working with his schedule, Mendes returns, which means the creative expectations for Bond 24 will be high. Plus, who follows Javier Bardem's stunning turn as Bond's adversary this time around?"
To correct Mr. Ellwood.....'Skyfall' earned the Bond series its 3rd and 4th Oscar after the ones won in 1965 and 1966 ;-). But then again, with such a big, old, rock-solid franchise you are allowed to make some tiny mistakes ;-).