Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ Pushes Back Theatrical Release

“Tenet,” Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated espionage thriller, has pushed back its theatrical debut by two weeks, ending months of speculation about whether or not the $200 million tentpole would hold onto its mid-July release date.

The Warner Bros. film, which stars Robert Pattinson and John David Washington, was initially slated for July 17 and will now debut in cinemas on July 31. On the date that “Tenet” was expected to open, theaters will re-release one of Nolan’s biggest hits, “Inception,” in honor of its 20th anniversary.

“We’re especially thrilled, in this complex and rapidly changing environment, to be bringing Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet,’ a global tentpole of jaw-dropping size, scope and scale, to theaters around the world on July 31,” said Toby Emmerich, chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures Group. “It’s been longer than any of us could’ve imagined since we’ve seen a movie on the big screen, and to acknowledge Chris’ fans as we count down to ‘Tenet’’s opening day, we are also excited to offer his masterpiece ‘Inception’ in theaters for its 10th anniversary on July 17.”

Nolan, one of the most ardent supporters of the big-screen experience, was hoping “Tenet” would usher audiences back into theaters, which have been mostly closed across the country since the middle of March to help stop the spread of coronavirus. Though some states have started to reopen cinemas, major movie theater chains like AMC, Regal and Cinemark don’t have plans to resume business until later in the summer. When they are able to restart shop, it’s unclear how willing audiences will be to return to the movies. Though “Tenet” was only slightly shift back, Warner Bros. believes more theaters will be open by the end of July.

While every other major Hollywood studio has shifted, delayed or amended plans to premiere its movies, Warner Bros. long held firm that “Tenet” would maintain its release date. However, the studio reignited doubts that “Tenet” would debut as planned when it launched a new trailer last month that conspicuously lacked an opening date.

Now, Disney’s remake of “Mulan” will be the first big film to reignite moviegoing when it debuts on July 24. Before that, two smaller movies — Russell Crowe’s thriller “Unhinged” from Solstice Studios and Sony’s romance drama “The Broken Hearts Gallery” — are slated to launch in theaters on July 1 and July 10, respectively. Since those films are both modestly budgeted, they give theater owners the opportunity to show fresh content on the big screen with less of a risk for their financial backers.

“We are excited that our partners at Warner Bros. will offer a new generation of film fans the opportunity to enjoy Inception the way it was originally intended to be seen – on the big screen,” The National Association of Theatre Owners, the exhibition industry’s trade organization, said in a statement. “Over these last months we have been keeping Warner Bros. closely informed of our work towards reopening our theatres in accordance with governmental health and safety requirements, and we are looking forward to audiences enjoying Tenet in our theatres all around the world on July 31st.”

Over the past few months, Warner Bros. overhauled much of its upcoming slate shifting around hotly anticipated titles like “Wonder Woman 1984” (Aug. 14), Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical “In the Heights” (June 18, 2021), and Robert Pattinson’s “The Batman” (June 25, 2021). “Scoob,” an animated film based on “Scooby-Doo” characters, skipped its planned release in theaters and instead debuted on digital rental services.

Nolan wrote and directed “Tenet,” which use a mix of Imax and 70mm film to bring the story — an espionage thriller about a secret agent tasked with preventing another world war — to the silver screen. Elizabeth Debicki, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Kenneth Branagh round out the cast.