Originally published June 16, 2020. Updated December 10, 2022.
Tenet was recently delayed by just two weeks due to the pandemic but it would have reportedly been for longer if Christopher Nolan hadn’t been an issue.
Christopher Nolan’s next sci-fi thriller Tenet is a film fans have been looking forward to seeing once cinemas reopen around the world. Nolan himself has been pushing for the film to keep its summer release slot even when other films have been pushed by months or to 2021.
It was recently announced that the film would in fact be delayed but just by two weeks until July 31st. While this two weeks might make a difference in terms of getting more people back into cinemas once they reopen, Warner Bros. was apparently happy to delay the film for even longer.
What happened? Well, according to a report in The New York Times, WB wants to maximise returns on Tenet at the box office to recoup their investment, meaning they were happy to delay for a longer period of time. However, Nolan was adamant that the film be ready to greet fans when they return to theatres this summer.
WB gave in as they wanted to keep Nolan – a big moneymaker for the studio – happy: “In recent weeks, Warner, concerned about its Tenet investment, was leaning in favor of postponement, while Mr. Nolan, a fervent advocate for preserving the moviegoing experience, was more eager to press ahead. The discussions amounted to a fraught moment for Warner: Mr. Nolan is a proven moneymaker, and the studio wants to keep him happy.”
Whether there will be another delay or not remains to be seen but it seems like Nolan is happy to have Tenet make less money but arrive promptly while WB is naturally more worried about the box office numbers.
Will audiences be happy to trust cinemas’ health precautions to go and see Tenet? Time will tell, but let us know in the comments or on our social channels if you’re planning to catch the movie in theaters this summer…
Armed with only one word – Tenet – and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real-time. Not time travel. Inversion.
Tenet sees Christopher Nolan directing a cast that includes John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Clémence Poésy, Michael Caine, and Kenneth Branagh.
