“Tenet,” Christopher Nolan’s latest mind-bending blockbuster, has delayed its theatrical release again from Aug. 12, this time to an as of yet unnamed date still in 2020, though a new release date should be announced imminently.
Warner Bros. has also postponed the opening of its next release, “The Conjuring 3,” to June 4, 2021, from Sept. 11, 2020.
“Our goals throughout this process have been to ensure the highest odds of success for our films while also being ready to support our theater partners with new content as soon as they could safely reopen,” Toby Emmerich, chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group, said in a statement. “We’re grateful for the support we’ve received from exhibitors and remain steadfast in our commitment to the theatrical experience around the world. Unfortunately, the pandemic continues to proliferate, causing us to reevaluate our release dates. Amidst all this continued uncertainty, we have decided to vacate the current dates for our next two releases.”
He continued: “We will share a new 2020 release date imminently for ‘Tenet,’ Christopher Nolan’s wholly original and mind-blowing feature. We are not treating ‘Tenet’ like a traditional global day-and-date release, and our upcoming marketing and distribution plans will reflect that. Additionally, we will be moving the next installment from our most-successful horror franchise, ‘The Conjuring 3,’ to June 4, 2021.”
Warner Bros.’ other releases for 2020, including “Wonder Woman 1984” and “Dune” on October 2 and December 18 respectively, as of now remain unchanged.
After stay-at-home orders and movie theater closures began in mid-March due to the coronavirus, “Tenet” was one of the few movies that remained steadfast on its original release date of July 17. It became a movie that theater chains used as a target for reopening and hopefully luring audiences back. But as cases have risen throughout the U.S., “Tenet” too has been forced to vacate its theatrical release, first to August 12 and now to another time in 2020.
But as some movie theaters have reopened around the world, including in Korea, Japan, China and elsewhere, it’s becoming increasingly likely not just for “Tenet” but for other major studio blockbusters that some films may open internationally or in other cities before debuting in America or even opening in a traditional wide release.
“Tenet” in particular has aimed to break the rules of its marketing and rollout, debuting its second trailer for the film exclusively during the video game “Fortnite” before it appeared online.
Nolan’s “Tenet” is a thriller about a man who has the ability to invert time and process events around him in reverse in an effort to prevent the destruction of the entire world. The film stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Himesh Patel and Clémence Poésy.
“The Conjuring” 3″ is the third film in the horror franchise that’s directed by Michael Graves and starring Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson and Julian Hilliard.