Christopher Nolan’s Tenet Pushes Theatrical Release

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Christopher Nolan’s Tenet pushes theatrical release

Audiences were finally about to witness the expected majesty that is Christopher Nolan’s mysterious sci-fi espionage blockbuster Tenet, but due to the studio’s commitment to a theatrical release and a spike in cases of the coronavirus across the nation, Warner Bros. has chosen to delay the film’s release once again. (Via Variety)

The film was originally scheduled for a release on July 17 before WB announced two weeks ago that it would be pushed back to the end of July and now the film is slated for release on Wednesday, August 12, with a 10th anniversary re-release of Nolan’s Inception taking over the July 31 date after having originally taken over the July 17 date.

“Warner Bros. is committed to bringing Tenet to audiences in theaters, on the big screen, when exhibitors are ready and public health officials say it’s time,” a Warner Bros. spokesperson said in a statement. “In this moment what we need to be is flexible, and we are not treating this as a traditional movie release. We are choosing to open the movie mid-week to allow audiences to discover the film in their own time, and we plan to play longer, over an extended play period far beyond the norm, to develop a very different yet successful release strategy.”

The most recent Tenet trailer arrived stamped with the tag, “Coming to theaters,” though copy within the YouTube video continued to push the July 17 release. And while everyone at Warner Bros. remained optimistic situations will improve enough for them to release the film and NATO recently confirmed theaters would be open in time, it appears Warner Bros. would rather be safe than sorry by delaying the film by two weeks. Tenet’s success was set to pave the way for other planned releases, including Disney’s Mulan remake on July 24 and Warner Bros.’ Wonder Woman 1984 on August 14, but now that it has been pushed back to August, it’s unclear what will be the next big theatrical success of 2020.

The film is written by Nolan and will utilize a mixture of IMAX and 70mm film, which is something he’s become famous for.

The director first made an impact in 2001 with his indie film Memento. His next film, Insomnia, was also a modest hit. but it wasn’t until Batman Begins hit theaters in 2005 that Nolan became a box office force in his own right. The Prestige was Nolan’s last movie to gross under $200 million worldwide. His other films include The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Interstellar, and Dunkirk.

Nolan is producing Tenet along with his partner Emma Thomas and is currently slated for an August 12 release.