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https://variety.com/2020/film/news/christopher-nolan-tenet-movie-theaters-reopening-july-coronavirus-1234599723/
I understand why Nolan is holding his ground. He wants to play into the narrative of being the 'saviour of cinema' and being the patron saint of the theatrical experience. In many respects, he already has that reputation regardless.
But Tenet is a niche blockbuster (an oxymoron if there ever was one). It's a big high-concept film that really shouldn't (and can't) get made in the studio system with a budget as close as the one Nolan has got. It needs every cinema in the world to be open at capacity and big marketing roll-out. Neither of which it can get in July. They'd only release it as a show of support for ailing theatres and to tell audiences and other studios that the 'water is fine and they should get in.'
The perfect film to do this isn't Tenet; you need a big shiny franchise film to break the deadlock and get people interested to leave the house. I think that film is Wonder Woman 1984 (which was always 2020's best chance of a billion dollar hit). Sadly I don't think we'll get Tenet in July at this rate and nor should we...
The real question is how feasible 2020 is at this point. I expect that with Boris Johnson's announcement on Sunday on the exit strategy we will get an idea of what returning to work will be like....
I'd be interested what @antovolk thinks as I know he works in this sector. Is 2020 still feasible at this point? Not just for Tenet, but anything.
https://www.thewrap.com/spongebob-sequel-theaters-august-delay-viacomcbs/
Wonder Woman 1984's current release date is August 12th. There is also Disney's Mulan on July 24th.
A show of support is exactly the idea. The fact that at the moment Tenet is that film and not WW84 is the Nolan factor at play. Plus kudos for the industry for rallying around an original non-franchise non-IP (if you don't count Nolan as an IP in his own right) big budget blockbuster. Without a film like that opening first, cinemas (big chains in particular) might as well not reopen even if governments say yes. WB for now is likely afraid of blinking first and moving without visible (government-led) reason to because of the message that sends to cinemas. And Tenet moving will have a knock-on. Mulan will go, Wonder Woman likely will and so may SpongeBob.
Will we get Tenet in July? Depends on what governments say - and Boris saying something about cinema/entertainment spaces on Sunday may prove to be a turning point. Current plans in all major markets are reopening July. The UK Cinema Association is even lobbying the government ahead of Sunday's announcement to allow them to reopen in late June.
Should we get Tenet...that's the question. There's an entire moral side of the question the industry is reluctant to discuss at the moment as it ends up being intertwined with politics and the larger economy vs health debate.
It's an interesting point, but do we need films to come out in July/August before we can gage what happens with he rest of the 2020 slate?
There is a version of events where both Tenet and Mulan fail badly at the box office. That wouldn't be either film's fault as there is an appetite for both but numerous other facts would have contributed to their failures. In which case, the business incentive of releasing in 2020 (and before a vaccine can be developed) starts to dissipate.
For example, NTTD moved from April to November not because theatres had closed (the full lockdown was not in effect), but because of Asia being closed and Europe being on a similar trajectory. If the aim is to make money, then surely there is a date where 2020 will no longer be feasible.
Whatever that date is, then won't we see other films flocking out of 2020 entirely? What implications does that have on the Oscars, etc? These will certainly be a very interesting few weeks for the film business.
Latest development/confirmations are that both New York City and Los Angeles county will keep stay-at-home orders until August at the earliest. The UK government has admitted yesterday that the tentative date of July 4th for the cinemas reopening may in fact be ''significantly later".
I am curious to know how this will affect cinema chains, studios and movies themselves now that the reopening date keeps being pushed further away.
I don't have any particular interest in watching this in the theater, but if it comes out in July, I doubt very much there will be any theaters open in my country to screen it, and I'm sure there are many other countries in the same situation.
I'll be very intrigued to see how this gets released...if it does. From my understanding the virus is dying out and it's going to be slow process in bringing down the curve. But we are now 2 months into isolation, with at least 2 more months in the UK to go. I suspect we will all be more positive in the weeks to come.
The teasers look great. Exactly what one would hope from Nolan getting back into the 'action blockbuster' phase. The bullet line from Clemence Posey is great. She has a great chic Parisan vibe....a very handsome woman.
So will Tenet open in July?? Will it come in August as some anticipate? Or is this all false hope? Is anyone else mispronouncing it as 'Tenant?' SO MANY QUESTIONS
Everything indicates the trailer will also announce the new release date.
This is the sort of statement that makes it nearly impossible to believe anything you say.
The 2 TV spots you posted directly below that quote do not mention a July release.
If Tenet wasn't delayed, it would be written 'July 17th' in my screenshot.
My opinion of Nolan has dropped considerably in the last couple of months for this very reason and why my anticipation for Tenet is currently not very high.
What makes you say that?
I know there were some think-pieces after Dark Knight Rises came out that Nolan was essentially romanticising the idea of a capitalist billionaire coming to stop a revolutionary intent on usurping the rich and installing the 1% into power. Bane as a character could be seen as an attack on liberalism.
That's certainly a 'read' on Dark Knight Rises....but the actual politics of Bane and his intent on riding a populist wave to crush the elites and restore true power to the people (draining the swamp if you will) has a ring of more conservative talking points over recent years. Plus, a certain politician even quoted Bane in his inauguration speech in 2017. Bane even adopts a severe form of fascism to protect his police state.
So if you're basing your assessment of Nolan being a Tory on the above...I'd say it's a much harder balancing act than that.
However, I know Nolan made Dunkirk, which is a film about 'plucky English derring-do' and it came out post-Brexit. That film didn't sit well with me during the time as a result...but i'd be the first the confess it's in a desperate need of a re-watch i haven't seen it since 2017.
I don't think Nolan is thinking about the $$$$$ with releasing Tenet in July. He wants to protect theatres. If anything, he's cutting his nose off to spite his face here. He's taking a loss for the industry. He's, basically, Batman.
(kidding...but you get my point)
I'd actually rather believe that he's in it for the money than what you're saying here; because if what you are saying is true then Nolan is in dire need of a doctor and a powerlifter to remove him from up his own arse. Outside of Batman, Nolan's films have done reasonable but unspectacular numbers at the box-office.
That is...a terrific post.
Devil's advocate argument might be: the argument of a delayed release later for guaranteed money could also be faulty. This could be Nolan's bet that cinemas are, in fact, not going to survive this and he thinks the chance to make any theatrical back-end exists now, right now, and everything down the line is lost because it will all be on streaming which will void (?) his arrangements. Same would go for other films, including NTTD. F9. The Batman. Basically everything will just end up streaming somewhere because the world will never regain confidence in cinema safety, at least not for 2-3 years.
I'm not quite personally that cynical, though. I think your evaluation of him is much closer to the truth.
That was released 8 July 2010.
https://observer.com/2020/05/tenet-box-office-christopher-nolan-salary-info-details/
This sounds more like it, alright.