‘Tenet’ Will Premiere Internationally Before Opening in Select U.S. Theaters

Christopher Nolan’s Tenet may get a summer release after all — despite of COVID-19. Warner Bros., who have been pushing for the blockbuster’s theatrical premiere in the midst of the global pandemic, now say that Tenet will debut internationally on August 26th before opening in select North American cities over Labor Day weekend on September 3rd.

The 70 global territories where the film is scheduled to premiere include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United Kingdom. There are currently no plans to release Tenet in China, one of the film industry’s largest markets.

Although U.S. theaters still generate the most revenue for Warner Bros., a recent surge in coronavirus cases in the country has forced the studio to consider alternatives. Last week, Variety reported that Warner Bros. was in talks with exhibitors in Europe and Asia to open the film over the August 26th to 28th weekend. Even countries where it would have been previously unthinkable to screen films during the pandemic are now gradually opening up their theaters and finding strong ticket sales at the box office. Peninsula, the sequel to the Korean zombie film Train to Busan, has generated $21 million in Korea since it opened on July 15th.

Meanwhile, other blockbusters that were planned for spring and summer 2020 remain on hold. Disney recently took its live-action Mulan reboot off of the official calendar, and the highly anticipated sequel to John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place has been moved from this Labor Day weekend to April 2021.