In July, the first big steps taken in reclaiming society from the ravages of the Coronavirus, reopening theaters, takes place. Projections were dismal, but it’s a moved needed to ensure that theater chains survived, and all hope rests with Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.
Had the virus not ravaged the world, Nolan’s Tenet would’ve made a billion dollars at the box office. Unfortunately, it loses out box office with only one-third of that amount. The film did amazing in overseas markets where the pandemic had little-to-no impact.
The film bombed in the US. This happened solely because of the virus shutdowns. The impact rippled throughout Hollywood, causing many studios to rethink 2020 release schedules and push a lot of films back until 2021.
Nolan spoke to The Los Angeles Times for the first time since Tenet hit theaters, and says that Hollywood’s misunderstood the box office numbers for his film:
“Warner Bros. released Tenet, and I’m thrilled that it has made almost $350 million. But I am worried that the studios are drawing the wrong conclusions from our release.
Rather than looking at where the film has worked well and how that can provide them with much needed revenue, they’re looking at where it hasn’t lived up to pre-COVID expectations.
And will start using that as an excuse to make exhibition take all the losses from the pandemic instead of getting in the game and adapting – or rebuilding our business, in other words.”
Nolan also remarked about the future of the film industry:
“Long term, moviegoing is a part of life, like restaurants and everything else. But right now, everybody has to adapt to a new reality.”
Although Tenet did well overseas, the film needed to make $500 million in order to achieve profit. Tenet cost $200 million to make, before figuring in marketing, which was extensive.
