Warner Bros. Won’t Share Official Tenet Box Office Numbers, and Other Studios Are Mad

Warner Bros. is playing coy with the box office data for Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. Choosing to release the movie earlier this month after several coronavirus-related delays, the Burbank-based studio has released just selective data to members of the media and to competing studios, angering several of the movers and shakers of Tinsel Town, per a new Variety report.

Prior to the closure of theaters and the temporary shuttering of all of Hollywood for the better part of six months, it was commonplace for the data to be shared amongst studios so they could plan and forecast future releases and the like. Without Warner now willing to supply that data, it’s causing some hiccups in the decision-making of other studios as they work to decide whether or not to release movies this fall as health experts forecast an increase in COVID-19 cases around the country.

As Variety puts it, “Numerous insiders at rival studios emphasized that they want Warner Bros. and Tenet to succeed, citing the aphorism that rising tides lift all boats.”

Earlier this week, Wonder Woman 1984 — another Warner Bros. film — was the next wide release on the theatrical schedule, but that has since been delayed to Christmas Day. Now, it appears Marvel Studios’ Black Widow is the next major release on the slate barring any further delays.

What we do know, however, is that Tenet has had a tepid response for what many thought would be the largest release of the year. Through Sunday, the Nolan blockbuster has reportedly grossed $29.5 million domestically, for a global total of $207M. As expected, the movie’s second weekend dropped significantly, hauling in just under $7 million stateside.

This is all against a reported production budget of $200 million, meaning, at the current rate, the studio could end up losing hundreds of millions of dollars on the movie due to the wonders of Hollywood accounting. Reports earlier this summer said the flick needed a whopping $800 million to break even, though Warner Bros. soon vehemently denied that being the case. As the norm, the studio didn’t reveal how much it’d need to make to turn a profit.

Tenet is now showing in theaters, wherever they’re open.

Have you gone to see Tenet in theaters? If not, when do you plan on returning to the cinema? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!