Christopher Nolan Criticized Over Pushback Against HBO Max Movie Premieres: “He Caused This”

Film fans are debating comments made by Tenet director Christopher Nolan, who pushed back against [...]

By Cameron Bonomolo

Film fans are debating comments made by Tenet director Christopher Nolan, who pushed back against WarnerMedia's unprecedented decision to send Warner Bros.' entire 17-movie 2021 slate to HBO Max. On Thursday, the AT&T-owned company announced its one-year hybrid exhibition model bringing blockbuster titles like Godzilla vs. Kong and The Suicide Squad to the streaming service on the same day they release into theaters at no extra cost to subscribers. Following a precedent set by Wonder Woman 1984, which arrives on the service on Christmas Day, the titles will be exclusive to HBO Max for 31 days before being removed from the platform and continuing theatrically with the customary distribution windows.

On Monday, Nolan called HBO Max the "worst streaming service" when breaking his silence on the decision that WarnerMedia executives called a "win-win for film lovers and exhibitors."

"Some of our industry's biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service," Nolan told The Hollywood Reporter.

"Warner Bros. had an incredible machine for getting a filmmaker's work out everywhere, both in theaters and in the home, and they are dismantling it as we speak. They don't even understand what they're losing," he continued. "Their decision makes no economic sense, and even the most casual Wall Street investor can see the difference between disruption and dysfunction."

In a December 3 release, WarnerMedia said the innovative one-year initiative is a response to "the reality that most theaters in the U.S. will likely operate at reduced capacity throughout 2021."

This consumer-focused distribution model sparked worries that it could mean the end of the exhibition industry, but WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group Chair and CEO Ann Sarnoff said the move allows the company to "support our partners in exhibition with a steady pipeline of world-class films, while also giving moviegoers who may not have access to theaters or aren't quite ready to go back to the movies the chance to see our amazing 2021 films."

Nolan pushed for the thrice-delayed Tenet to open in theaters over the summer, and IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond reported Nolan wanted his trippy sci-fi thriller to be the film that sparked a return to moviegoing after months of sustained theater closures.

The John David Washington and Robert Pattinson-starring Tenet opened first in select international territories before gradually rolling out in some U.S. cities on September 3, making it the first tentpole film to screen in theaters in months. According to Box Office Mojo, Nolan's latest has grossed $57.6 million domestically and $302 million internationally for a current worldwide total of $359 million — his lowest box office since Insomnia in 2002.

The expected lackluster box office of Tenet, reportedly priced at $200 million, caused one box office analyst to state the film would need to earn at least $400 million just to break even. In November, Nolan told The Los Angeles Times he's "thrilled" with Tenet's performance but expressed concern that "the studios are drawing the wrong conclusions from our release."

"That rather than looking at where the film has worked well and how that can provide them with much-needed revenue, they're looking at where it hasn't lived up to pre-COVID expectations," he said, "and will start using that as an excuse to make exhibition take all the losses from the pandemic instead of getting in the game and adapting — or rebuilding our business, in other words."

Now some film fans are laying the blame at Nolan's feet, saying the Inception and Dark Knight trilogy filmmaker is "the reason that Warner Brothers made the decision they did."

"He f—ed them on Tenet. He forced it to go theatrical and lose millions of dollars," one Twitter user writes. "Any filmmakers who are angry should direct their complaints to Nolan. He caused this."

Here's what film fans have to say about Nolan's criticisms:

"He Caused This"

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A Radically Changed Landscape

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A Rude Awakening

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"Lack of Awareness"

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"Evolving With the Times"

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"Even Bigger Disasters"

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"Literally Die"

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An Ironic Twist

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"Flushing a Year's Worth of Movies"

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"A Problem He Caused"

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