Analyst Predicts 'Tenet' Will Be Delayed Again
The film and entertainment industry continues to grapple with the economic effects of the global coronavirus pandemic, with meticulous schedules continually thrown into disarray. The next most likely victim is Christopher Nolan’s film Tenet, which an analyst predicts would be unable to premiere on its new date.
Variety reports that Eric Handler, an exhibition industry analyst from MK Partners, is doubtful that Tenet would be able to premiere on Aug. 12, citing the rising number of coronavirus cases in the states of California, Florida, and Texas. Handler also pointed out that New York, a large market for movies, has not reopened its theaters as of yet.
If Handler’s prediction comes true, this will be the third time that Tenet would have changed its premiere date. Originally set to premiere on July 17, it was first moved to July 31. However, coronavirus concerns forced it to be moved to Aug. 12.
A premiere date change for Tenet could also have implications for other blockbuster movies set to premiere around the same timeframe. When Tenet changed its premiere date to Aug. 12, Disney’s Mulan changed its premiere date to Aug. 21, more or less a week after Tenet.
While Handler made no predictions about other movies premiering later on in the year, one can expect them to change their dates as well once Mulan and Tenet do. Other movies that have moved their premiere dates include No Time To Die, Top Gun: Maverick, Soul, F9, Raya and the Last Dragon, Black Widow, Morbius, The Eternals, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Wonder Woman 1984, and In the Heights.
With these movies expected to change their dates once again, big theater chains may also move their reopenings to match it. AMC theaters had already moved their reopening to July 30 from July 15 to match the expected August premieres of Tenet and Mulan.
The continued changing of release dates for event movies like Tenet and Mulan is also expected to deliver another crushing blow to the North American box office. Deadline reports that Handler expects a 70 percent decline to the box office for 2020. Last year’s total box office returns was at $11.4 billion.
Back in March, the North American box office had already suffered a $600 million deficit brought about by coronavirus-induced theater closures. The global box office is also expected to lose $5 billion due to the closure of theaters in big international markets like South Korea and Japan.
Handler also predicted an equally dismal state for the North American box office in 2021, expecting returns to come in at $9.1 billion. He is projecting 2022 as the time when the box office can go back to “normal” levels of revenue, predicting returns at $11.5 billion.