head with the  official Eon Bond series film _Octopussy (1983)_ (qv) at the box  office. Never Say Never Again was released just 4 months after  Octopussy. Because the films starred Roger Moore (I) (qv) and  Sean Connery (qv), each equally recognized to the movie going  public as James Bond at the time, much of the talk in the press was  of a "Bond vs. Bond" showdown at the box office. Most industry  analysts predicted that Never Say Never Again would win out at the  box office due to the return of Connery, more press, and a  significantly larger production budget than Octopussy. According to  a press release from Variety in 1985 this was not the case. Variety  quoted figures from MGM and Warner Brothers that listed Octopussys  US gross at $67.9 million and Never Say Never Agains US gross at  $55.4 million. It also listed Octopussys worldwide gross at $187.5  million, and Never Say Never Agains worldwide gross at $160  million. The article also stated that according to the studios,  Octopussy had $34.031 million in US rentals, while Never Say Never  Again had $28.2 million in US rentals. When the final results were  in Never Say Never Again and Sean Connery ended up losing the much  discussed "Bond vs. Bond" showdown.