It's definitely Christopher Nolan's method to push the envelope as far as he can. With the coronavirus still keeping many areas of the U.S. shut down, the director and the studio took a major risk by trying to release his film during a pandemic. And it looks like their idea to attempt a cinematic jaunt during this time was not the greatest plan. Instead of patiently waiting for something to change, Nolan and WB decided to move ahead with the box office release of Tenet, Nolan's latest mind trip of an action film. Now we're seeing some of the financial after effects and why many other studios may decide to push the pause button at trying to release any other major features during a time of crisis.
It initially looked like Tenet might be the movie to kick start some type of end of late season resurgence, but all in all it's turned out to be a disappointment for the studio. Initially thought to have made $20 million in its opening frame, the numbers were ultimately tallied at $10 million. And it looks like numbers continue to fall. In its third weekend of release, it's only scraped together $4.7 million which is nowhere near the return they need on investment. It's domestic total is now at $36.7 million which isn't altogether bad considering the statistical averages of how many people are actually going to the theater right now. But it may prove that they should have waited until this entire thing is over.
The good thing is that home video numbers will be through the roof.
-CG