With reported cases of the coronavirus surging in the US, Warner Bros on Thursday postponed the release of Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet,’ further delaying Hollywood’s summer kickoff.
The sci-fi thriller starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson will move from July 31 to August 12, a Wednesday. In a statement, the studio stressed the need for flexibility.
“We are choosing to open the movie mid-week to allow audiences to discover the film in their own time, and we plan to play longer, over an extended play period far beyond the norm, to develop a very different yet successful release strategy,” a Warner Bros spokesperson said in a statement.
Movie theatres had been pinning their hopes on the film as a major July release that could bring audiences back to theatres.
Warner Bros had planned to re-release Nolan’s 2010 blockbuster ‘Inception’ in early July as a way to lead in to ‘Tenet.’ ‘Inception’ will now open on July 31, the studio said.
Several films still are scheduled to open in July, namely Disney’s delayed live-action version of ‘Mulan,’ though it remains unclear whether theatres will be allowed to open as planned in major markets like New York and Los Angeles.
