One of the biggest news stories of the week was when The Walt Disney Company announced that the long-delayed live-action remake of Mulan would be arriving on the Disney+ streaming platform instead of a traditional theatrical exhibition. This news has prompted fans to wonder what other movies might make a similar jump, with high hopes for The New Mutants and Black Widow. Though other studios haven’t made any indication that they’ll follow suit with some of their releases, that hasn’t stopped people from asking. Speaking in a new interview, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar doesn’t think Tenet will follow a similar strategy.
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“I don’t have any comment on that specifically,” Kilar told Variety when asked if WarnerMedia was “open to making a similar move.” “I think with Tenet we should judge this based on our decision-making on Tenet, which is: We believe in the theatrical business. We’re excited to partner with Chris Nolan to get Tenet out in theaters first and foremost.”
He continued, “And then of course, it will be in another formats, in other venues, that are not theatrical. But I think, if you look at our behavior, we’re believers in the theatrical experience, and are also of course in very close communication with everyone in the exhibition industry, about the topic of windows and about how we can collectively serve consumers in the best way possible going forward…So I know it’s a pretty provocative topic, and I get that and it’s very understandable. But at the end of the day, I’m excited about it, and I’m leaning into it.”
Warners and Christopher Nolan have already publicly revealed their plans for Tenet‘s new release strategy, announcing that the film will forgo the traditional day and date global release. The film will still open internationally before premiering in the US, arriving in over 70 countries worldwide on August 26th. Tenet will then open in select US theaters on September 3rd before arriving in China on September 4th.
“As a huge fan of cinema and epic event cinema my whole life, I like nothing more than escaping to another world through the power of movies,” Nolan said in an official video. “Tenet is our attempt to make as big a film as possible, as immersive action as possible for the big screen, and we are extremely excited about showing it to Chinese audiences.”
The countries getting Tenet on August 26th include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, Spain, and the UK. WarnerMedia has announced no plans for a simultaneous VOD or digital release in conjunction with its theatrical debut.
