Tenet (2020) (1 Viewer)

[Jason_V]

Looks like might know how California is going to go next week:

California Coronavirus Update: Governor Gavin Newsom To Issue County Guidelines For Reopening Movie Theaters

California Governor Gavin Newsom will issue guidelines next week that could allow some counties to move into Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan, Newsom said at a press conference today. The guidelines will cover “high-risk workspaces” such as movie theaters. The governor said local conditions...

deadline.com

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Anyone think Tenet will end up running a long time in theaters if Covid-19 casualties don't spike too much? We haven't had anything remotely like the old, long runs of previous decades w/ Titanic's run thru 1998 being the longest and probably most memorable of our time of course.

Under normal circumstances in today's industry environment and marketplace, no movie could plausibly have another run remotely like Titanic did -- of course, Titanic's run itself was a fairly unique exception back then too. But these are far from "normal" circumstances... so wondering if there might be just the "right" confluence of factors and events to yield a similarly long, cumulative (revenue) run...

I certainly have no interest in being a guinea pig amongst the initial waves of movie-goers to see Tenet during the summer. But if it manages a very long run (w/ not too much Covid-19 spikes) deep into year's end or even early next year (w/ a potential vaccine around the corner then), who knows?

Yeah, I had previously indicated in another thread being (very cautiously) hopeful of possibly attending some Carnegie Hall concerts toward year's end or maybe early next year (of course, depending on how exactly everything works out), but I'd reiterate that I'm far less positive about regular movie-going, which I don't value nearly as much anyway (despite my enthusiasm for movies)... As I said and continue to observe and believe, I just think regular movie-going will generally be quite substantially more risky due to the various different logistics... especially being at the forefront of reopening such indoor attraction roughly 4 months ahead of the classical music season...

Anyhoo...

_Man_

 

[TravisR]

Anyone think Tenet will end up running a long time in theaters if Covid-19 casualties don't spike too much? We haven't had anything remotely like the old, long runs of previous decades w/ Titanic's run thru 1998 being the longest and probably most memorable of our time of course.

I don't think Tenet's run will be anything particularly notable. Even if it's a success, the public has no attention span and Warners will want most of the screens that Tenet is on to play Wonder Woman four weeks later.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I don't think Tenet's run will be anything particularly notable. Even if it's a success, the public has no attention span and Warners will want most of the screens that Tenet is on to play Wonder Woman four weeks later.

Yeah, but if we still don't have many other movies, "Tenet" could be out there much longer than the usual 6 weeks or so.

My local AMC has 22 screens - they gotta fill those with something, and unless they bring back March movies that got their runs cut short, what'll they run?

 

[TravisR]

Yeah, but if we still don't have many other movies, "Tenet" could be out there much longer than the usual 6 weeks or so.

My local AMC has 22 screens - they gotta fill those with something, and unless they bring back March movies that got their runs cut short, what'll they run?

I have a 22 screen theater in my area too and in a normal situation, they'd have Tenet on a minimum of 5 screens. With social distancing, they're going to have 50% capacity at most (and it'll probably less than that) so they'll combat that by multiplying the number of screens something is on. If Tenet was normally on 5 screens, it'll be on at least 10. If Warners releases Tenet, I think DIsney will release Mulan the next week so that will take a chunk of the remaining screens too. At that point, there isn't many screens left.

A potential big problem for theaters is what happens later in September when there's no big budget movies or if a movie tanks and it's on half of their screens.

 

[Jason_V]

Anyone think Tenet will end up running a long time in theaters if Covid-19 casualties don't spike too much? We haven't had anything remotely like the old, long runs of previous decades w/ Titanic's run thru 1998 being the longest and probably most memorable of our time of course.

If Tenet was a 4 quadrant movie or a holiday film, yes. But it's not. As much as Nolan is a god among some movie fans, it doesn't have the names on the marquee or an established IP to draw those kinds of crowds. Plus, Warner will need something fresh to put on disc and VOD in the early fall time frame.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Well, Tenet is being pushed back after all...but only by two weeks. It will now open July 31. In its place on July 17 will be a re-release of Inception.

‘Tenet’ Moves To July 31; 10th Anniversary Reissue Of Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception’ To Go On July 17

Warner Bros.' Christopher Nolan movie Tenet officially is moving to July 31.

deadline.com

I can't believe this, mostly because what is the point? The situation with the virus isn't going to be any better two weeks later. I would normally appreciate the chance to see Inception on the big screen again, but not in a pandemic.

 

[TravisR]

Well, Tenet is being pushed back after all...but only by two weeks. It will now open July 31. In its place on July 17 will be a re-release of Inception.

‘Tenet’ Moves To July 31; 10th Anniversary Reissue Of Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception’ To Go On July 17

Warner Bros.' Christopher Nolan movie Tenet officially is moving to July 31.

deadline.com

I can't believe this, mostly because what is the point? The situation with the virus isn't going to be any better two weeks later. I would normally appreciate the chance to see Inception on the big screen again, but not in a pandemic.

I think it's basically stalling to see how bad the virus is going to get and to give cities like New York and Los Angeles more time to reopen. If the numbers keep going up and large markets are still kept to a low capacity then they'll move it again.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I'd suggest updating the thread title with the new date, but that seems rather pointless at this juncture.

 

[Jake Lipson]

The New York Times (via Slashfilm, because the NYT Is under a paywall) is reporting that WB wants to move the release date, but are keeping it in July to appease Nolan.

'Tenet' July Release Is To Please Christopher Nolan – Warner Bros. Would Prefer To Delay - SlashFilm

Keeping the Tenet release date in July is apparently Christopher Nolan's wish, although Warner Bros. reportedly would prefer to delay by much longer.

www.slashfilm.com

 

[TravisR]

The New York Times (via Slashfilm, because the NYT Is under a paywall) is reporting that WB wants to move the release date, but are keeping it in July to appease Nolan.

'Tenet' July Release Is To Please Christopher Nolan – Warner Bros. Would Prefer To Delay - SlashFilm

Keeping the Tenet release date in July is apparently Christopher Nolan's wish, although Warner Bros. reportedly would prefer to delay by much longer.

www.slashfilm.com

It didn't take Woodward and Bernstein to have figured that one out. I get that Nolan is a major moneymaker for WB (as a matter of fact, he must be one of the biggest moneymakers for their company ever) but they're going to have to break the bad news to him soon. I guess they're just hoping for another shut down so they can blame that rather than have some balls and say "Sorry, Chris."

I get the feeling that even if the movie does come out on July 31 that there won't be a 35mm or 70mm release or there will be whatever fulfills the minimum contractual number of prints that Nolan and WB agreed on. Why would Warners even bother to spend the money on prints when, at best, theaters will have 50% capacity and some major markets will be even less?

 

[Tino]

Again, shame on Nolan if true. Can’t believe I’m saying this but I hope the film tanks. The selfishness and stubbornness of Nolan is sad to see. And I was a huge Nolan fan. Was.

 

[TravisR]

Again, shame on Nolan. Can’t believe I’m saying but but I hope the film tanks. The selfishness and stubbornness of Nolan is sad to see.

I'd think the fact that this movie's 70mm and 35mm release is absolutely going to be compromised would be enough to make him begrudgingly go with a delay.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I totally understand why Nolan wants to help out movie theaters. I would want to help out movie theaters, too, because I love them and I want to see them be able to come back from this when the time is right. I think everybody who hangs out here here probably wants to have the movie theater industry rebound from this situation.

But now is not the time.

I just don't understand how Nolan can have that much leverage. What's he going to do, walk away from Warner for his next film? He has been their most important filmmaker for the last 15 years. He even insisted that they be involved in Interstellar as a co-production with Paramount. If he would walk away from a relationship that has been that long and fruitful for both parties just because they want to delay this film to a period where more people will come see it, that would be extraordinarily foolish of him. If I were the head of another studio, I would think twice about jumping into bed with someone who, under that circumstance, would be essentially blackmailing the studio to keep a release date. Warner Bros. paid a lot of money to make this film, and it is ultimately their property, so it's their choice to make, not his.

 

[TravisR]

I said it another thread but I'm sure Warners wanted to move it to at least September (nearly any other movie will change their date rather than go up against Tenet) and the move to July 31 was just to keep Nolan happy until they have to tell him that they're moving it again. And I don't think that Warners is concerned about public safety, they just care about being able to fill more seats all over the country.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I would hope that Warner is concerned with public safety.

Even if you take the completely cynical corporate view of things here, this is it: If people actually come out to see Tenet and get the virus and die, or spread it to others who die, then all of those dead people will not be around to support their other films. I want to be able to see Tenet, but I also want to be able to see other stuff further down the pipeline like Wonder Woman, In the Heights, the new Batman, Shazam! 2, Fantastic Beasts 3, etc. Yes, they want my dollars for Tenet. But they also want to keep me coming back to their films in the future, which means I have to stay alive to be able to do that.

 

[Tino]

Sorry but anyone going to movie theaters to see Tenet in July is putting theirs, and others, lives at risk.

And some even brag that they can’t wait to go. Amazing.

 

[Jason_V]

Something just struck me as funny and, perhaps, a bit cynical and sarcastic.

Everyone is so hung up on the format for Tent, there's a somewhat different question going through my head right. With the state of the theater industry, they HAVE TO OPEN to generate some kind of revenue and have a shot of being around in December. And I mean all of the theater chains. If they can't open because there's no product, we're going to be talking about watching Tenet and every other movie at home and on our phones instead of in a theater.

In other words, this whole 70 mm vs. 35 mm conversation is a moot point if there are no theaters left. Open them within guidelines; the people who are comfortable going will go and those are aren't won't. I will go, just like I went out to eat three times this weekend at dine-in restaurants.

The theater industry will need revenue, Warner will need revenue and product to sell on home video/VOD later this year, the employees who are in both those industries need to return to work.

Look, I don't honestly care about Tenet on way or the other. I've been lukewarm on his recent movies and don't fall over myself to praise him like others in the world do. If Tenet is out, I'll see it in the theater. If it's not, it's not.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

There were over 25,000 complaints made in New York State alone this past weekend, the overwhelming majority in New York City and Long Island, about businesses and individuals not following the social distancing and mask wearing guidelines that the reopening was contingent on. The governor is saying that unless everyone complies with the rules immediately, the state will have no choice but to go back into lockdown.

I do not believe we will see universal compliance.

It just became more likely than it was yesterday that New York will shut down again, or at the very least, slow down the process of reopening and therefore put theaters in jeopardy of not reopening in time for a July release.

If New York locks down again within the next few weeks, I’d be willing to bet that Tenet disappears from the July schedule.

 

[Jason_V]

I do not believe we will see universal compliance.

Neither do I. The "all"/"everyone" piece isn't going to work in any situation period. You never stop "all" movie piracy or talking in a theater or people bringing in their own candy/drinks. The best you can really do is figure out something less than 100% compliance to hang your hat on.

I also agree with you, Josh. If NYC locks down again, July is gonna be thrown out. Wouldn't it hilarious (sarcastic hilarious) if the first big film out of the gate is New Mutants in late August...