Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” has been delayed again, this time from July 31st to its new home on Wednesday August 12th.
That’s not all though as the “Inception” re-release, which had taken the original July 17th “Tenet” slot, has been delayed until July 31st.
The studio’s official Mexico site recently updated that country’s release to Friday August 14th and now the U.S. has followed suit, but is instead going mid-week which would help avoid a potential Friday-Saturday night attendance crush.
In an official statement with regards to the delayed release, the studio also indicates it could well push the date again if required:
“Warner Bros. is committed to bringing ‘Tenet’ to audiences in theaters, on the big screen, when exhibitors are ready and public health officials say it’s time. In this moment what we need to be is flexible, and we are not treating this as a traditional movie release. We are choosing to open the movie mid-week to allow audiences to discover the film in their own time, and we plan to play longer, over an extended play period far beyond the norm, to develop a very different yet successful release strategy.”
Part of the delay stems from the New York government recently stating that malls, gyms, and movie theaters will not be allowed to reopen as part of the state’s fourth phase of its careful reopening. Without its theaters, “Tenet” would miss out on a significant percentage of its potential domestic box office take.
Will the delay be enough? Will it have an impact elsewhere? One highly likely possibility is that “Mulan” will be pushed back to the Fall but Disney hasn’t made that move as of yet.
Source: Variety
