‘Tenet’ Earns Solid $20 Million at US Box Office, Nears $150 Million Globally
Christopher Nolan’s film meets restrained expectations as nearly 70% of North American theaters reopen
Jeremy Fuster | September 6, 2020 @ 10:17 AM
Last Updated: September 6, 2020 @ 10:49 AM
Warner Bros.
Amid ongoing pandemic, Christopher Nolan’s new thriller “Tenet” is meeting tempered expectations for Warner Bros. with an estimated $20 million 4-day opening at the U.S. box office as its global total hits $146.2 million after two weekends in theaters worldwide.
“Tenet” has the widest domestic release of any film since the start of the pandemic with 2,810 locations, as distributors report that approximately 70% of the entire U.S. theater circuit has reopened. While Warner Bros. did not release any studio projections, analysts and theater owners who spoke to TheWrap said that a $20 million start was a reasonable goal given the lack of open theaters in many major cities and 25% capacity limits on theaters in many states like New Jersey, which allowed theaters to open this weekend.
“Our partners in exhibition have gone to extraordinary lengths to provide a safe return to theaters, and we applaud and support their efforts,” Warner Bros. said in a statement. “Moviegoers are excited to be able to enjoy movies the way they were meant to be seen–on the big screen–and ‘Tenet’ is the perfect film to welcome them back.”
Warner Bros. will be hoping for more theaters to reopen later this month, allowing for strong legs through September if word-of-mouth continues to build. While the deliberately cryptic nature of “Tenet” alienated some audiences and critics, word-of-mouth has been mostly positive with a 74% critics Rotten Tomatoes score, an 80% RT audience score, and a B in CinemaScore polls. By comparison, Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” received a B+ and 87% RT score.
Along with the U.S., “Tenet” was also released in China, where it faced stiff competition from local hit “The Eight Hundred.” While the two films are neck-and-neck on the weekend charts, “Tenet” still earned a solid $30 million opening, the highest ever for a Nolan film in China.
That total includes $5.3 million from 649 IMAX screens in China, with the premium format taking in just over $11 million for “Tenet” this weekend. As with previous Nolan films, IMAX heavily invested in “Tenet,” providing cameras and heavy promotion. While the pandemic has weighed down numbers, IMAX turnout for the film in the U.S. and China has still given the company its best ever weekend in the month of September.
Among holdovers, 20th Century Studios’ “The New Mutants” will take in an estimated $3.5 million 4-day total along with $4.2 million overseas as it opened in the U.K., Mexico, Australia, Russia and Italy. That pushes the Marvel horror film’s global total to just over $20 million. Solstice’s “Unhinged” took in an estimated $1.6 million 3-day total in its third weekend, bringing its domestic total to $11.2 million. Searchlight Pictures expanded “The Personal History of David Copperfield” to 1,550 screens and grossed an estimated $470,000, bringing its total to $1.13 million as it waits for the major cities that usually drive the specialty box office to open.
Meanwhile, Disney’s “Mulan” was released as a $30 premium on-demand title for Disney+ subscribers in most parts of the world, though it did receive theatrical release this weekend in a handful of Asian markets and earned $5.9 million. Among the countries screening the remake in theaters were Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. “Mulan” will be released theatrically next weekend in China, a country long considered to be critical to the film’s box office.
All 10 Christopher Nolan Movies Ranked, From 'Memento' to 'Dunkirk' (Photos)
Director Christopher Nolan has become well-known for blasting audiences’ brains with mind-bending, over-the-top spectacles. Ahead of his next film "Tenet" and in honor of the director's 50th birthday, here's TheWrap's definitive ranked list of his movies.
Getty Images
10. "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012)
That you can’t understand a damn thing Bane says is the least of this movie’s problems. It’s heavy social politics and bleak ideologies of hope in the modern day are a drag for a superhero movie, and Nolan’s twists and parables strain credulity.
Warner Bros.
9. "Interstellar" (2014)
On the trajectory of Nolan movies getting more and more bogged down in their complications, “Interstellar” is probably the pinnacle. It has its poignant moments — Matthew McConaughey’s despair-wracked sobs are pretty unforgettable — but gets lost in time travel, temporal displacement, global warming, interpersonal drama and a weird sometimes-documentary style. None of the ideas gets the right amount of attention and the whole thing is a bit of a mess.
Paramount
8. "Insomnia" (2002)
It's really the performances that make this remake of a Norwegian film work. Robin Williams delivers some of the best dramatic work of his career as the primary suspect in the murder of a teenage girl in an Alaska town. It’s more of a mid-budget stepping stone ahead of "Batman Begins," but Al Pacino slowly losing his grip on reality ratchets up the tension.
Warner Bros.
7. "Following" (1998)
Many have labeled “Following” as just a student film. It’s better than that. Nolan's debut feature features his penchant for rules and brisk pacing. The story concerns a man who follows people around and becomes protege of a petty house thief (who shares a name with an "Inception" character, Cobb). And this Cobb has philosophies about creating chaos that are a dry run for The Joker’s craving to watch the world burn.
Zeitgeist Films
6. "Inception" (2010)
This is Nolan’s “Vertigo,” a movie that combines everything that has defined his career into one ambitious opus. He takes the world of dreams and applies his signature rules and rigid structure into a bombastic, mind-bending thriller that's sometimes awe-inspiring and sometimes maddeningly exhausting with its exposition.
Warner Bros.
5. "Batman Begins" (2005)
Nolan reinvigorated the onscreen character of Batman with a more intimate look at Bruce Wayne’s origins. The more serious take on the hero. Thanks to Nolan’s focus on a man figuring out how to be a symbol rather than just punching bad guys, he helped make “Batman Begins” a template for superhero movies hoping to be more realistic and less cartoonish. And having Liam Neeson in your movie doesn't hurt.
Warner Bros.
4. "Memento" (2000)
The movie that first really started to tip people off to Nolan is a noir-esque mystery told in reverse, with Guy Pearce's detective unable to form new short-term memories. The movie’s construction keeps the audience as confused as protagonist Leonard, but once it all comes together, the frightening story of how people manipulate each other, and themselves, blows minds in the best way.
Newmarket Films
3. "The Prestige" (2006)
Michael Caine’s three rules in “The Prestige” could also define Nolan’s filmmaking. Above all, Nolan is a showman who stages something elaborate and magical and then wants to show you how it’s done. Fittingly, “The Prestige” is Nolan’s most twist-filled and rewatchable film.
Warner Bros.
2. "The Dark Knight" (2008)
It’s bolstered by Heath Ledger’s otherworldly, swan song of a performance, but “The Dark Knight” redefined grizzly, post-9/11 neo-noir. Its twists, moral choices and provocative themes on heroism upped the games for superhero movies and blockbusters for all time.
Warner Bros.
1. "Dunkirk" (2017)
Nolan’s sprawling WWII epic is quite possibly his simplest movie. Despite its enormous scale and running three tales in parallel with some non-linear storytelling, the minimal use of dialogue and powerful performances makes “Dunkirk” incredibly tense and human. It's a different kind of war movie -- and Nolan accomplishes a lot by holding back (some) of his usual complexity.
Warner Bros.
1 of 11
“Tenet” director turns 50 today
Director Christopher Nolan has become well-known for blasting audiences’ brains with mind-bending, over-the-top spectacles. Ahead of his next film "Tenet" and in honor of the director's 50th birthday, here's TheWrap's definitive ranked list of his movies.