Tenet may have debuted in theaters across the United States this past weekend, but that doesn’t mean the domestic box office is out of the woods just yet. Wonder Woman 1984 is the next major release on deck for the year, and it is slated to arrive on October 2nd, theoretically giving Tenet an entire month to work with. However, there are several other factors at play, and it’s looking more and more likely that Wonder Woman 1984 gets pushed yet again.
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According to a new report from Deadline, Warner Bros. is looking to possibly move the Wonder Woman sequel back to November or December, which would push Dune back to 2021. This isn’t just due to the returns on Tenet, which made just over $20 million in its first weekend in North America. It actually has a lot to do with the opening of theaters in the two biggest markets in the country.
Theaters in New York City and Los Angeles have yet to reopen, and they account for a massive portion of the box office in the United States. As of now, they’re slated to begin reopening in late September or early October. That means that Tenet would be debuting in those cities within a week of Wonder Woman 1984 opening.
If Tenet belonged to another studio, this likely wouldn’t be an issue at all. Seeing as how both Tenet and Wonder Woman belong to Warner Bros., however, there is very little chance that they will open in those markets at the same time. The smartest move at that point would be for the studio to punt Wonder Woman back a month, which would then push Dune back as well. The only way around a Dune delay would be to put Wonder Woman 1984 at the beginning of November, allowing plenty of time between the two releases. The only issue there is that Marvel’s Black Widow is set to debut on November 6th. That’s not a competition anyone wants.
Warner Bros. has yet to make any kind of official announcement regarding the Wonder Woman 1984 release date, but its latest trailer was curiously missing a release date, indicating that it could move. The same goes for Dune‘s debut trailer.
Earlier this month, Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff said that all of the coming release dates were up in the air, including Wonder Woman 1984.
“We are still figuring out the strategy for all of our movies,” Sarnoff explained. “We have quite a lot done. Obviously, Wonder Woman 1984 is up next. For now, it is where it is. Like I said earlier, certain movies deserve to be on the big screen. My belief is Wonder Woman is one of those.”
When do you think Wonder Woman 1984 will arrive in theaters? Let us know in the comments!