Mark George
7th November 2020
The world’s largest theatrical release since the Covid-19 era began earlier this year, Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ is a sci-fi action thriller- came out in theaters to great critical acclaim but poor box office numbers. Given the still-recent easing of restrictions in North America, Europe, and various parts of Asia, the movie saw a stilted and abated release in theaters across the globe. Despite this, ‘Tenet’ was able to draw out over $350 million in its three months at the box office with still more locations to see a debut. Critically renowned filmmaker Nolan is happy with the draw. Still, he fears big-name studios may view this release as a disappointment considering it is his lowest opening to date in addition to it being his most expensive original film, clocking in at around $200 million.
Nolan described the movie in an interview with the Los Angeles Times as the most ambitious project of his entire career. Still, he made known his fears that production houses and major studios would be more pessimistic than he is. In a more recent interview, Nolan said, “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 — that 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’s concerns have proven to be entirely valid, with other hopeful releases including No Time To Die, Black Widow, and Death on the Nile, all being further delayed.
Nolan and lead actor John David Washington on the set of ‘Tenet’ (Source- WB Entertainment)
While succeeding in the international box office with $293 million, Tenet’s failure was in the US, barely able to scrape a fraction of that amount. Nolan is happy with the output and believes that moviegoers will soon adapt to this era of restraint and consider it a ‘part of life’. While other studios weigh their options, considering releasing their films on streaming platforms such as Disney+ and Netflix or simply waiting for the pandemic out, potentially risking buzz and hype around the releases, one thing remains certain- the virus is here to stay. As filmmakers approach accepting that reality, Nolan remains proud of his work and expects a good outcome from the digital release of the highly acclaimed film. At the same time, other major studios stand at a major crossroads in this testing time, being forced to decide between postponement, alternate release strategy, or adhering to convention and encountering potential losses in the process.
(Source- Warner Bros, Box Office Mojo, Forbes, Los Angeles Times)
Edited by- Arjun Rohit Vikraman