Jacob Elordi Emerges as Top James Bond Contender

Jacob Elordi has stormed into the lead as the favourite to replace as the next James Bond.

The Wuthering Heights star, 28, is currently  

And his surging popularity appears to have impacted his odds at becoming the next James Bond.

Despite his shot for the role being at just 14/1 last week, Jacob is now the favourite to . 

After the release of Wuthering Heights on Friday, Jacob now holds odds of 5/4 - toppling previous favourite, English actor Callum Turner whose odds have drifted from 7/10 to 6/4.

 and  round off the top four in the running.

Bettors have rallied behind Jacob over the last 12 hours with 56 per cent of bets backing him for the role. 

Elsewhere Oddschecker has also slashed Jacob's odds from 6/1 into 5/4 overnight putting him ahead of the heavily fancied Callum. 

Spokesperson for , Lee Phelps, said: 'There's been a big shake up in the search for the next actor in the past 24 hours, with our new outright favourite.

'Elordi was considered an outsider for the role last month but saw his price slashed from 14/1 to 4/1 last week following the release of Wuthering Heights.

'However, those odds have taken another tumble this morning and the Australian is the new 5/4 frontrunner to replace Daniel Craig, .

'The Wuthering Heights fallout has also seen Margot Robbie leap into contention to be the next Bond girl – we're 6/1 for that to .'

Oddschecker spokesman Chris Rogers stated: 'Callum Turner had led the next James Bond betting market for several weeks, but a new name has surged to the top. 

'Jacob Elordi is now 5/4, cut from 6/1 to take the role ahead of Turner (6/4). 

'Punters have strongly backed Elordi over the last 12 hours with 56% of bets favouring the Frankenstein star. 

'Callum Turner continues to be a strong contender and was the second most backed candidate behind Elordi with 20% of the betting.' 

Wuthering Heights

The romantic drama from Emerald Fennell stars and as the star-crossed Catherine and Heathcliff and is a take on Emily Brontë's novel.

New statistics state that the controversial film made US$34.8million in the North American box office in its first three days which makes it the year's biggest opening so far.

According to PostTrak polling, an estimated 76 per cent of those ticket buyers were women. 

By the end of Monday's Presidents Day holiday, the total could rise to US$40million from its 3,682 locations. 

The Warner Bros./MRC production cost a reported $80million to produce, not accounting for the millions spent on marketing and promotion. 

If the four-day totals match the estimates, that makes for a strong $82million global debut. And the film still has several big openings on the horizon, in and Vietnam on February 27, and in on March 13.