‘Tenet’ Will Never Skip Theaters For a VOD-First Release
Christopher Nolan’s Tenet has left us with a lot of questions as of late. Namely, when are we actually going to see it? As the movie was pushed back once more due to continuing coronavirus concerns, fans have begun to wonder if Tenet will pull a Trolls World Tour and simply side-step its theatrical release altogether. But John Stankey, CEO of WarnerMedia parent AT&T, confirmed that Tenet will have a theatrical release.
According to Deadline, Stankey shared his thoughts on future titles going straight to VOD during a conference call this morning. “Is it going to happen with a movie like Tenet or something like Wonder Woman?” Stankey said. “I’d be very surprised if that would be the case. In fact, I can assure you with Tenet, that’s not going to be the case.” Phew. No one should have to figure out Tenet on a small television screen. While Stankey said that there will be “some shifts” in movie releases in the future, he guarantees that films that are meant to be seen in theaters will be.
As movie theaters remain shuttered, Universal and Disney have experimented with forfeiting certain titles' theatrical runs in favor of an advanced debut on their streaming platforms. Same goes for Hulu, who released their romantic comedy Palm Springs straight to digital (plus a limited drive-in theater run). But Tenet differs from Palm Springs in that it is a blockbuster of the highest degree. With its multi-million dollar budget and wildly ambitious premise, Tenet has a lot more to lose by failing to perform at the box office. So do the movie theaters who aren’t able to show it. That's why AMC is pausing the reopening of its theaters until Warner Bros. is ready to go with Tenet and other major titles.
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