Why was Tenet released to cinemas only, even though most of them are closed throughout the US?

Why was Tenet released to cinemas only, even though most of them are closed throughout the US? - Abstract background with white glassy drops

I've read good reviews about Christopher Nolan's new Tenet movie and wanted to go see it. Unfortunately it turned out that its only released in cinemas and all of them are currently closed down in my county. Similarly they're not open in NYC, Los Angeles and many other major urban centers. Did the movie studio explain why they've chosen not to stream it in addition to the cinema release? Other movies (such as Bill and Ted 3) did release a streaming version immediately.



Best Answer

The director, Christopher Nolan, is a big fan of the cinema experience and believes that films made for the cinema should be shown there, and he is against the idea that films should premier on the "small screen". For example, he is on record as being against the idea that films first shown on Netflix and other streaming services should be eligible for Oscars. One example (plenty more are available if you care to search):

Christopher Nolan fights for the big screen. He optimizes his movies for the 70mm experience... “Netflix has a bizarre aversion to supporting theatrical films,” Nolan said in an interview this week. “They have this mindless policy of everything having to be simultaneously streamed and released, which is obviously an untenable model for theatrical presentation. So they’re not even getting in the game, and I think they’re missing a huge opportunity.” Source

The theatrical release of Tenet was pushed back multiple times rather than the studio simply releasing it to streaming services early as other films have done during the Covid-19 pandemic (e.g. Trolls: World Tour, Disney's Mulan). Whilst I have not seen anywhere attributing this to Chris Nolan, it's easy to believe he was the driving influence behind the decision.




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Why did Warner Bros release Tenet?

A: The studio made the decision to release the film in the summer in parts of the world where it was safe to open the film because of the response to the pandemic in those individual countries. And I think they made a good decision. . . . A lot of people got to see the film.

Was Tenet a box office failure?

'Tenet': Its Disappointing $364M Gross Is Now An Aspirational Box Office Benchmark.

Will Tenet come back to theaters?

Christopher Nolan's Tenet Is Making A Big Box Office Comeback, Despite Disappointing Original Release.

Did Tenet save cinema?

Tenet didn't save cinema, that's for sure \u2013 but there's reason to fear that, by cruel chance, Nolan's film called time on his beloved medium instead.



Tenet Explained: The Biggest WTF Questions Answered




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