Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ delayed indefinitely

The film was originally to release on August 12

Warner Bros. has removed Tenet from its release calendar, delivering a big blow on the exhibition industry at a time when theatres had hoped to peg their re-opening to the late summer debut of Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi thriller.

Though necessary given the mass uncertainty over when cinemas across the globe can safely reopen, the decision further complicates Hollywood’s already bumpy plan to revive moviegoing reported Variety. The film was originally scheduled to debut on July 17, but it was pushed back to July 31 and then August 12. It’s unclear when it will now welcome audiences, but the studio expects to announce a new release date “imminently.”

“We will share a new 2020 release date imminently for Tenet, Christopher Nolan’s wholly original and mind-blowing feature,” said Warner Bros. chairman Toby Emmerich in a statement. “Our goals throughout this process have been to ensure the highest odds of success for our films while also being ready to support our theatre partners with new content as soon as they could safely reopen.”

In what would be a surprise move, Warner Bros. may release Tenet overseas before it opens in the US. Though North America remains the biggest moviegoing market in the world, international cinemas look to be ahead of the States in their efforts to reopen.

Tenet, which stars John David Washington and Robert Pattinson, is intentionally shrouded in secrecy — and a staggered rollout could raise concerns about piracy and spoilers in a way that could impact demand to see the film. However, it would be welcome news for exhibitors in Europe and Asia, two robust film markets that haven’t had a new Hollywood release to entice
Nolan, whose credits also include The Dark Knight trilogy and Interstellar, wrote and directed Tenet, an espionage thriller about a secret agent tasked with preventing another world war. The cast also includes Elizabeth Debicki, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Kenneth Branagh.

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