Tenet director Christopher Nolan has admitted worry over studios drawing the wrong conclusions about the movie's box office performance. The film, which was touted as the savior of cinema following COVID-19-forced lockdowns, saw several delays as a result of the pandemic but released in the UK on August 26 after theaters reopened.
While it lived up to expectations internationally, the film only pulled in $53 million in the US as 45 percent of movie venues were shut down in the country. Nolan spoke to the Los Angeles Times in a recent interview and claimed to be happy the movie managed to bring in nearly $350 million worldwide but also claimed to be worried about studios perceiving the reception the wrong way.
“Warner Bros. released Tenet, and I’m thrilled that it has made almost $350 million,” he was quoted as saying. “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 noted long-term movie-going is a way of life but individuals will need to adapt given the current situation.
Tenet is just one of multiple films delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Highly-anticipated James Bond film No Time To Die also experienced multiple delays while Avatar 2 has also been pushed back.
Tom Holland's Uncharted movie, which has been under the delay curse for some time, saw things come to a halt yet again this year but it appears they're back on track, with Holland sharing a photo of himself as Nathan Drake via Instagram recently. Mark Wahlberg also shared a video of himself wearing a mustache that set tongues wagging over a Sully portrayal.
Source: Los Angeles Times