By now it’s no secret that Tenet was not a resounding success after its run in movie theaters, as Warner Bros.' bold attempt at reviving cinemas failed to fully resonate with moviegoers. However, someone with a good amount of skin in the game has jumped to Tenet’s defense by instead refocusing the expectations the film should have generated.
Tenet released in the United States on September 3, only a few days after already hitting cinemas overseas (except for China), topping at about $53.8 million in box office sales in the U.S. to bring its worldwide tally to $347.1m, something Christopher Nolan is pretty thrilled about as he told the Los Angeles Times.
Nolan did voice his concerns that the movie industry is simply not looking at the big picture when judging Tenet’s performance and thus “drawing the wrong conclusions”. In his opinion, instead of focusing on how movie theaters and studios could survive under current circumstances “they’re looking at where it hasn’t lived up to pre-COVID expectations”.
It’s clear that Tenet had everything going against it, premiering at a time when big states like New York and California had their theaters closed, which is precisely why Warner’s final call has been heavily questioned. It’s estimated that this decision could end up with Tenet racking up anywhere between $50-100m in losses for the studio.
For Nolan, going out to the movies is just like any other part of our lives, “but right now, everybody has to adapt to a new reality”, a take that clearly leans more to the human side of things. However, executives will definitely not agree with that. As the director himself points out, studios like MGM, Disney and even Warner are rightfully holding on tight to their projected earnings for all of their blockbusters.
While it’s almost impossible to put a number on how big Tenet’s box office coup would have turned out under normal circumstances, it’s evident that it was destined to be a profitable summer hit and it served as an experiment for the entire industry. If studios want to make money, they’ll continue to delay No Time to Die, Black Widowand Wonder Woman, contrary to Nolan’s well intended wishes.
Source: Los Angeles Times