Warner Bros. has decided to take “Tenet” off the theatrical release slate for the near future since movie theaters remain closed in New York and Los Angeles because of COVID-19.
The company “is prepping the film for an unconventional theatrical rollout which won’t be a global day-and-date one,” Deadline reports.
This likely means “Tenet” will reopen internationally first, including in markets like China, South Korea, Europe and Japan in the near future.
In the United States, “Tenet” would likely open wherever and whenever it can, possibly even in drive-in theaters first. The traditional model looks to be out the window on this one.
According to Deadline, Warner Bros. appears to be targeting Sept. 1 for the rollout.
With this scenario, Warner Bros. hopes “Tenet” would have “a long theatrical tail.” It wouldn’t be available for DVD or on-demand anytime soon.
Deadline said: “At this time the studio is rewriting the distribution playbook in real time, and will remain flexible in response to the erratic COVID-19 world we live in. Above all, they’re not turning their backs on exhibition.”
There are some international questions, too. Multiple reports suggest “Tenet” might be too long for Chinese movie theaters, which now have strict runtime restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Tenet” is currently listed at 150 minutes. Movie theaters in China only allow for films to run for 120 minutes to keep people’s time in the theaters short, per IndieWire.
It’s unclear what this decision will mean for the rest of the studios out there. Disney is still planning to release “Mulan” on Aug. 21 — but that date has changed several times. In fact, “Mulan” and “Tenet” have been playing a bit of cat-and-mouse game about which film will open first. It wouldn’t be surprising to see “Mulan” shift its date soon.
Cowen analyst Doug Kreutz said recently it’s unlikely Disney will release any new films in 2020. New movies are expected in 2021, though, as I wrote about for Deseret.com.
Movie theaters remained closed, too. AMC, Cinemark and Regal have all pushed back their reopening dates because of the rising COVID-19 cases, and the fact that there isn’t any new content to share in their theaters.