Daniel Craig is not the only 007 stalwart who might be about to bid farewell to Aston Martins, precisely mixed Martinis and megalomaniac nemeses, after Spectre, the latest James Bond movie. The Wall Street Journal reports that studios are set to battle for the rights to distribute future films in the long-running spy saga, now that the credits have rolled on the current partnership between the rights holders and studio Sony.

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The Japanese-owned Hollywood firm partnered with studio MGM and British-American company Eon/Danjaq to release and market the past four Bond films, all of them featuring Craig as 007. But its deal is up, and speculation is mounting as to where the franchise might move next.

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The Daniel Craig Bond movies have outperformed all before them, with early signs that Spectre could follow its predecessor Skyfall past $1bn (£652m) at the global box office, but there is some doubt as to whether Sony has been in a position to capitalise on its involvement. The WSJ, detailing information gleaned from last November’s hacked Sony emails, reports that the studio made only $57m from Skyfall, despite its stellar performance in multiplexes, and would be likely to rack up only $38m if Spectre performed similarly.

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The saga’s two most recent instalments were directed to critical acclaim by Oscar-winner Sam Mendes, so Bond manifests increasingly as a prestige franchise and there are expected to be no shortage of suitors for the distribution rights. The best-placed studio beyond Sony might be Warner Bros, which partnered with MGM on Peter Jackson’s hugely successful Hobbit trilogy, though MGM has also linked up with 20th Century Fox and Paramount since emerging from insolvency in 2010. Another alternative would be for MGM to set up its own distribution arm, but any such arrangement is not thought to be imminent.

Sony could be bolstered by continuing success for Spectre, which has smashed box-office records for its first three days at the UK box office after opening on Monday. But distributors may also be keen to see if MGM and Danjaq/Eon can tie Craig down to future instalments before agreeing to any deal. Prior to Spectre’s release, the British actor signalled a lack of interest in future episodes, though he is understood to be contracted for one more film.