/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5f5bd7800b27f613afb23b1e/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=4200&cropY1=68&cropY2=2431&w=1200&resize=1200,675&ssl=1 "The ‘Tenet’ Effect: ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Premiere Delayed Amid Sluggish Box Office")
Topline
Warner Bros. has made the call to delay the premiere of “Wonder Woman 1984” by two months after their Christopher Nolan-directed film “Tenet” faced lukewarm box office sales opening weekend as Americans appear to be reluctant to return to movie theaters as the coronavirus continues to spread in much of the country.
Gal Gadot arrives at the 2017 premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures’ ‘Wonder Woman’ in Hollywood, … [+]
FilmMagic
Key Facts
“Wonder Woman 1984” was due to be released Oct. 2 after its summertime debut was delayed, but Warner Bros. announced Friday the premiere would instead be pushed back to Christmas Day.
“We’re very proud of the film and look forward to bringing it to audiences for the holidays,” studio chairman Toby Emmerich said in a statement.
It follows the studio’s somewhat disappointing release of “Tenet” last week, which drew in just more than $20 million over the Labor Day holiday weekend despite its $200 million budget—and earned less than half what of Nolan’s last film, “Dunkirk,” made over its opening weekend in 2017.
Variety reported that the studio waited to see how “Tenet” performed to determine whether to switch up their plans for the “Wonder Woman 1984” release.
It’s a tough time for cinemas, with roughly a quarter of American movie theaters still closed, according to the Associated Press—and where cinemas are open, audiences appear to still be hesitant to pack into indoor theaters with strangers during the coronavirus pandemic.
What To Watch For
The next big movie debut on the Hollywood calendar is Marvel’s “Black Widow” set for an early November rollout. The film’s performance in theaters will likely be carefully watched by the industry as studios gauge how to approach the release of their upcoming big-budget projects.
Key Background
The long-awaited sequel to 2017’s “Wonder Woman,” Gal Gadot will reprise her role as the film’s eponymous superhero as she faces off against new enemies and navigates the Cold War era. “Wonder Woman 1984” is just the latest film in a string of Hollywood projects that has seen its timeline upended by the coronavirus pandemic. Another superhero movie, “The Batman,” has seen its production suspended twice; once when the coronavirus first hit the U.K., where the movie is being filmed, and again last week when lead actor Robert Pattinson reportedly tested positive for the virus. The premiere had already been pushed back from June 2021 to October 2021, and it’s unclear if the second pause on filming will delay the release further. Other films, like this year’s “Mulan” from Disney, were released on the streaming services instead of the typical movie theater rollout as a result of the pandemic. While Disney declined to share specific numbers, CFO Christine McCarthy told Bloomberg the company was “very pleased” with the results and that the Disney+ platform gained subscribers thanks to the exclusive release.
Further Reading
‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Delayed as Pandemic Slows U.S. Theater Reopenings (Wall Street Journal)
Pandemic chases ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ to Dec. 25 (Associated Press)
‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Release Date Pushed to Christmas (Variety)
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