Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ again delays big summer release

With reported cases of the coronavirus surging in the US, Warner Bros on Thursday postponed the release of Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet,’ further delaying Hollywood’s summer kickoff.

The sci-fi thriller starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson will move from July 31 to August 12, a Wednesday. In a statement, the studio stressed the need for flexibility.

“We are choosing to open the movie mid-week to allow audiences to discover the film in their own time, and we plan to play longer, over an extended play period far beyond the norm, to develop a very different yet successful release strategy,” a Warner Bros spokesperson said in a statement.

Movie theatres had been pinning their hopes on the film as a major July release that could bring audiences back to theatres.

Warner Bros had planned to re-release Nolan’s 2010 blockbuster ‘Inception’ in early July as a way to lead in to ‘Tenet.’ ‘Inception’ will now open on July 31, the studio said.

Several films still are scheduled to open in July, namely Disney’s delayed live-action version of ‘Mulan,’ though it remains unclear whether theatres will be allowed to open as planned in major markets like New York and Los Angeles.