Will Tenet Be Delayed? Warner Bros. Release Date Decision Coming Soon

It's expected Warner Bros. will decide whether or not to delay Tenet's release date soon. Christopher Nolan's upcoming film has held on to its original date during the coronavirus pandemic, even as other titles have either been rescheduled or gone straight to VOD. The hope is Tenet can be the first major movie that plays as theaters reopen later this year, which is something Nolan himself is very passionate about. Unfortunately, the ongoing health crisis is still a very fluid situation, and questions still remain if it will be safe for most theaters to open back up come July.

Making matters complicated is even if theaters are open for business a couple months from now, there will most definitely be new regulations in place to cap attendance (for social distancing purposes) as everyone eases back into "normal" activities. That, combined with studies showing people will be leery of attending mass public gatherings (like movie screenings) in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, means movies like Tenet will be grossing less at the box office than initially anticipated. For those reasons, people have thought WB will postpone Tenet in the near future, and now it looks like a final decision will be made in the not too distant future.

Related: WB Movies That Haven't Changed Release Dates

Per Variety, the thought is WB will decide "within a week" if they are going to delay Tenet or not. That's because if the film is coming out in July, the studio needs to put together a marketing campaign now (which will be a costly proposition). A teaser trailer for Tenet was released last December, but promotional materials have been scant since then.

This will be a tough call on WB's part. Tenet's production budget is reportedly $200 million even before advertising, so the movie needs to earn a pretty penny at the box office in order to turn a profit. As badly as Nolan and cinephiles would love to see Tenet welcome moviegoers back to the multiplex in mid-July, it wouldn't make financial sense for the studio to release it in an uncertain market. It will be necessary for most theaters around the world (especially ones in major markets) to be up and running by then if Tenet is to have its planned premiere. Again, there's no guarantee that will happen. California says it may be months before their theaters reopen. WB isn't going to put Tenet out in a limited number of locations, so it may make business sense to push it back and wait.

A month ago, when Disney rescheduled Mulan to July 2020, the generally feeling was that was too optimistic given the current climate. In May, that's still a prevailing belief. Connie Nielsen isn't sure Wonder Woman 1984 can meet its new August date, and there's even been talk No Time to Die (scheduled for November) will get pushed back again. Hopefully, things improve soon and moviegoers can get back to the theater, but health and safety has to come first. It's not worth rushing things back just so Tenet can still come out in July.

More: Why Tenet's Release Date Still Hasn't Been Delayed

Source: Variety