Tenet Tops Struggling Box Office for Fourth Weekend

Tenet is again atop the box office in the United States, though it is still suffering from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Many theaters are still closed and even where they are open many would-be moviegoers remain unwilling to partake in the experience. This weekend, Tenet earned $3.4 million, bringing its box office total to $41 million domestic. Under normal circumstances, the latest film by Christopher Nolan would have made more than that in its opening weekend. It’s ahead of The New Mutants, which remains in second place with $1.1 million for the weekend, bringing its box office total to $19.4 million after five weeks.

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.”

Keep reading to see the top films at this weekend’s box office.

1. Tenet

Week Four
Weekend: $3.4 million
Total: $41 million

A secret agent embarks on a dangerous, time-bending mission to prevent the start of World War III.

Tenet is directed by Christopher Nolan and stars  John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, and Kenneth Branagh.

2. The New Mutants

Week Five
Weekend: $1.1 million
Total: $19.4 million

Five teenage mutants — Mirage, Wolfsbane, Cannonball, Sunspot and Magik — undergo treatments at a secret institution that will cure them of their dangerous powers. Invited by Dr. Cecilia Reyes to share their stories, their memories soon turn into terrifying realities as they start to question why they’re being held and who’s trying to destroy them.

The New Mutants is directed by Josh Boone and stars Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Alice Braga, Blu Hunt, and Henry Zaga.

3. Unhinged

Week Six
Weekend: $1 million
Total: $17 million

Rachel is a single mother whose bad day gets even worse when she beeps her horn at a fellow driver during rush-hour traffic. After an exchange of words, she soon realizes that the mysterious man is following her and her young son in his truck. The initial case of road rage quickly escalates into full-blown terror as Rachel discovers the psychopath’s sinister plan for revenge.

Unhinged is directed by Derrick Borte and stars Russell Crowe, Caren Pistorius, Gabriel Bateman, Jimmi Simpson, and Austin P. McKenzie.

4. Break the Silence: The Movie

Opening Weekend
Total: $1 million

BTS World Tour ‘Love Yourself: Speak Yourself’ is now over. The worldwide stadium tour topped the Billboard Boxscore, and marked BTS as the first Korean group to perform at Wembley Stadium. The tour took place across Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, São Paulo, London, Paris, Osaka, Shizuoka, Riyadh, and Seoul.

With unprecedented access, Break the Silence: The Movie travels with BTS throughout the tour, exploring each band member behind the curtain. Off stage, we see another side of BTS. The seven members begin to candidly tell personal stories they have never voiced before.

5. The Empire Strikes Back

Opening Weekend (of Re-Release)
Total: $908,000

The adventure continues in this Star Wars sequel. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) face attack by the Imperial forces and its AT-AT walkers on the ice planet Hoth. While Han and Leia escape in the Millennium Falcon, Luke travels to Dagobah in search of Yoda. Only with the Jedi master’s help will Luke survive when the dark side of the Force beckons him into the ultimate duel with Darth Vader (David Prowse).

The Empire Strikes Back was directed by Irvin Kirshner and stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, and Frank Oz.

6. Infidel

Week Two
Weekend: $745,000
Total: $2.67 million

A desperate woman tries to save her husband after he’s kidnapped and put on trial for espionage in Iran.

Infidel is directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh and stars Jim Caviezel, Claudia Karvan, Hal Ozsan, Stelio Savante, and Bijan Daneshmand.

7. The Broken Hearts Gallery

Week Three
Weekend: $470,000
Total: $3.2 million

What if you saved a souvenir from every relationship you’ve ever been in? The Broken Hearts Gallery follows the always unique Lucy, a 20-something art gallery assistant living in New York City, who also happens to be an emotional hoarder.

The Broken Hearts Gallery is directed by Natalie Krinsky and stars Geraldine Viswanathan, Dacre Montgomery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Molly Gordon, Phillipa Soo, and Bernadette Peters. 

8. Shortcut

Opening Weekend
Total: $305,000

A mysterious creature terrorizes five teenage friends after their bus takes a shortcut on a desolate road in the wild.

Shortcut is directed by Alessio Liguori and stars Andrei Clause, Jack Kane, Zak Sutcliffe, Terence Anderson, Sophie Jane Oliver, David Keyes, and Zander Emlano.

9. Akira

Opening weekend (of 4k Re-Release)
Total: $270,000

In 1988 the Japanese government drops an atomic bomb on Tokyo after ESP experiments on children go awry. In 2019, 31 years after the nuking of the city, Kaneda, a bike gang leader, tries to save his friend Tetsuo from a secret government project. He battles anti-government activists, greedy politicians, irresponsible scientists and a powerful military leader until Tetsuo’s supernatural powers suddenly manifest. A final battle is fought in Tokyo Olympiad exposing the experiment’s secrets.

Akira was directed by Katsuhiro Otomo and is an adaptation of his manga of the same name.

10. The Last Shift

Opening Weekend
Total: $235,000

The Last Shift is an American story about two men struggling in the same town, while worlds apart. Stanley (Richard Jenkins), an aging fast-food worker, plans to call it quits after 38 years on the graveyard shift at Oscar’s Chicken and Fish. His last weekend takes a turn while training his replacement, Jevon (Shane Paul McGhie), a talented but stalled young writer whose provocative politics keep landing him in trouble. These two who share little in common are brought together through circumstance. Stanley, a high school dropout who has watched life pass by his drive-through window, proudly details the nuances of the job. While Jevon, a columnist who’s too smart to be flipping patties, contends their labor is being exploited. A flicker of comradery sparks during the long overnight hours in a quiet kitchen.

The Last Shift is directed by Andrew Cohn and stars Richard Jenkins, Shane Paul McGhie, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Birgundi Baker, Allison Tolman, and Ed O’Neill.