Warner Bros is set to re-release Inception in theaters instead of debuting Christopher Nolan‘s Tenet. The latest Nolan thriller was supposed to hit theaters in about two weeks, but now there’s a new plan in place. Tenet has been moved to July 31 and Inception will take its place to honor the 10th anniversary of the film. Many wondered if this would happen when the film took its release date off of promotional materials and out of its bio on social media. Now, with the announcement straight from the company, we have an answer. Inception should still draw some movie-goers to theaters if they so choose, but it will not be the same kind of seat stuffer that the newest Nolan movie was being speculated as. Still, it could have been worse as the 31st isn’t nearly as far away as some films have been postponed already this year.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“We’re especially thrilled, in this complex and rapidly changing environment, to be bringing Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet,’ a global tentpole of jaw-dropping size, scope and scale, to theaters around the world on July 31,” Toby Emmerich, chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures Group said in a statement. “It’s been longer than any of us could’ve imagined since we’ve seen a movie on the big screen, and to acknowledge Chris’ fans as we count down to ‘Tenet”s opening day, we are also excited to offer his masterpiece ‘Inception’ in theaters for its 10th anniversary on July 17.”
There were some other substantial barriers to a release soon though. There was some clear optimism from some corners of the film world that a strong showing for Tenet could help accelerate the process of getting people back into theaters. Clearly that assessment is going to have to wait until later this year. Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi speculated that things wouldn’t be back to normal for the cinema industry for at least a year or so during an earnings call.
“The reality is I don’t think we’re going to be able to get into a full-on rhythm again of product cycles and all that we had prior to COVID-19 until 2022,” CEO Mark Zoradi explained to Wall Street analysts. “That’s more production-related than our operation-related because as studios have had to adapt to not being able to do filming and do post-production, they’ve had to move their schedules. Therefore, we’re going to adapt as well.”
For now, fans will have to make do with a beloved film in the place of the new hotness. It remains unclear if some of the other films scheduled to premiere in the near future will follow suit.
Would you be interested in seeing Inception in theaters again? Let us know in the comments!