At one point over the weekend, Regal Cinemas updated their site to say Christopher Nolan‘s Tenet would be opening Labor Day weekend, just weeks after its previous release date of August 12th. As evidenced by screenshots captured and shared on Twitter, Regal, at one point, had information Tenet was hitting theatres on September 4th. Now the movie’s page has been removed entirely from the Regal website, with zero traces of the film, let alone a release date.
And here we go. #TENET US launch September 4 according to Regal https://t.co/WGZAR8BjgP pic.twitter.com/KDKP3dRT7q
— Anton Volkov (@antovolk) July 26, 2020
As coronavirus cases reach all-time highs in various hotspots throughout the country, Warner Brothers has relegated Tenet to a release purgatory as the studio assesses when the movie should be released. Arguably the first true blockbuster of the year, the studio has remained fully committed to giving the film a traditional theatrical release instead of moving it to VOD services as other studios have done.
Videos by ComicBook.com
During a recent investors call, AT&T CEO John Stankey admitted he’d be very surprised if either Tenet or Wonder Woman 1984 skipped theatres for a VOD release, meaning the studio will likely sit on both features until theaters reopen to near-full capacity.
“Stankey: ‘I think theatrical has an absolutely important role going forward, there will be some content more enjoyable in theaters than in the living room… however, I don’t know when theaters will reopen…,’” @alexweprin shared. “Stankey says he ‘would be very surprised’ if big tentpoles like Tenet or Wonder Woman go straight to VOD adds that in the case of Tenet ‘I know that’s not the case.’ Says some films ‘on the margins’ will end up shifting to streaming.” You can check out the tweets below:
Stankey says he “would be very surprised” if big tentpoles like Tenet or Wonder Woman go straight to VOD adds that in the case of Tenet “I know that’s not the case.” Says some films “on the margins” will end up shifting to streaming.
— Alex Weprin (@alexweprin) July 23, 2020
The feature had originally been scheduled for release on July 17th, a date which was subsequently pushed to July 31st before it landed on the August 12th date. As it stands now, the movie is now technically off the Warner Brothers release slate entirely as the studio assesses the film’s future.
When do you think you’ll feel comfortable returning to theaters? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!
