Christopher Nolan’s hotly-anticipated blockbuster gets the green light to open in selected theatres
‘Tenet‘, the Christopher Nolan film that has seen more than its fair share of release delays and is considered the film that should reignite the worldwide box office after the COVID-19 lockdown has finally been given a release date for its debut. And as expected and rumored, it will open internationally first ahead of a rollout in selected (and safe) American cities. The film will open in 70 international territories including Australia, The United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Germany on August 26th before it makes its U.S debut on September 3rd. The film will not, as yet, open in China. This was expected also due to the length of the film being two and a half hours and Chinese cinemas restricting films to be two hours or less for releasing in the country’s theatres.
The film getting an international release ahead of an American debut represents a major shift in the tradition regarding the big-budget blockbusters that see the inside of screens. Warner Bros. stated last week that they would abandon the usual structure and would do their utmost to get the film into cinemas this year and not hold it over until 2021 like so many other films have decided to do. This also will give the international cinemas who are suffering a severe and potentially fatal financial downturn in their fortunes for this year a chance to keep the lights on and the doors open, giving them some leeway in their fight to remain open. It should also go some way to securing the re-opening of theatres worldwide.
We can all now hope that this decision is going to pay off as the film has been announced, given new dates to open only to get pushed back once more several times over the past few months. Where the international releases are concerned, they SHOULD be safe and in stone now but the American release is still open to interpretation. It could be that the film finally gets to be seen in multiplexes in the U.S but if the infection rate continues to rise, then it is feasible that the release could be delayed once more. But it does give hope that films such as ‘Mulan‘, ‘The New Mutants‘, and ‘Unhinged‘ will manage to keep their announced releases in August and not be held back any further. It also bodes well for ‘Wonder Woman 1984‘, ‘Black Widow‘, and ‘No Time To Die‘ in their quest to open this year. Sadly though, the situation comes too late for the likes of ‘Top Gun: Maverick‘, ‘A Quiet Place Part II‘, and others that decided to delay releasing until next year, some as late as last week.
In related news though, we may have received good news regarding ‘Tenet‘ but we also got some more bad news as Paramount’s ‘G. I Joe: Snake Eyes‘ which was due for release in October of this year has now been delayed until next year where it will join the list of big-budget entertainment that is due for release during 2021.
I am cautiously optimistic that the films that are still currently slated for release this year will now hit the theatres. Although ‘Mulan‘ was removed from the release schedule by Disney last week, no new release date was announced which in turn, allows Disney to look into their options and grant the film a release this autumn, boosting box offices around the world. I won’t count my chickens just yet regarding ‘Tenet‘, just in case it all falls through yet again but if it manages to keep its international release date of August 26th, the world’s cinemas may just be able to breathe a sigh of much-needed relief. The next problem they face? Convincing the audiences around the globe that it is indeed safe to walk through those doors once more. But if they manage it, then we, the paying customers can finally sit down and see at least a handful of the films we have been looking forward to all year.
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Carl Roberts is a Senior Staff Writer and Books and Literature Correspondent for The Future of the Force. Aside from being our horror genre aficionado, he is also passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and the Indiana Jones movies. Follow him on Twitter @CarlRoberts2 where he uses the force frequently!
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(Source: Variety)
Author
Carl Roberts is the News Editor of The Future of the Force. Aside from being our horror genre aficionado, he is also passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and the Indiana Jones movies. Follow him on Twitter where he uses the force frequently!
