Tenet Reboots International Box Office With $53 Million Haul

While audiences in the United States have to wait a few more days before the film’s debut, Christopher Nolan‘s Tenet opened in international markets this weekend and despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic can put a solid opening weekend on the books. According to Variety, Tenet generated a $53 million debut with its strongest performance coming in the United Kingdom.

Tenet made $7.1 million in the UK followed by $6.7 million in France, $5.1 million in Korea, and $4.2 in Germany. The film opened in 41 international markets this weekend and will open in the US, Russia, and China next weekend. This weekend’s opening numbers were described by Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich as “a fantastic start”.

“We are off to a fantastic start internationally and couldn’t be more pleased,” Emmerich said. “Christopher Nolan has once again delivered an event-worthy motion picture that demands to be seen on the big screen, and we are thrilled that audiences across the globe are getting the opportunity to see Tenet.”

Emmerich also thanked theater operators for the additional measures they’ve taken to help ensure safety as theaters reopen.

“Thank you to our exhibition partners for their tireless efforts in reopening their cinemas in a safe and socially-distanced way,” Emmerich said. “Given the unprecedented circumstances of this global release we know we’re running a marathon, not a sprint, and look forward to long playability for this film globally for many weeks to come.”

According to the film’s official synopsis, “John David Washington is the new Protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s original sci-fi action spectacle Tenet. Armed with only one word—Tenet—and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real-time. Not time travel. Inversion.

The film also stars Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, and Kenneth Branagh. Nolan wrote and directed the film, which was produced by Emma Thomas and Nolan. Thomas Hayslip served as executive producer. Nolan’s behind-the-scenes creative team included director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema, production designer Nathan Crowley, editor Jennifer Lame, costume designer Jeffrey Kurland, visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson, and special effects supervisor Scott Fisher. Ludwig Göransson composed the score.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Syncopy Production, a Film by Christopher Nolan, Tenet. Warner Bros. Pictures is distributing Tenet in theaters and IMAX worldwide. The film has been rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, suggestive references and brief strong language.”

Tenet opens in theaters in the United States on September 3rd.