Hollywood’s international game of chicken
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If all goes to plan, Christopher Nolan’s thrice-delayed “Tenet” will be the first blockbuster to receive a proper worldwide theatrical release amid the coronavirus pandemic at the end of this month.
Why it matters: It’ll be playing a $200 million game of chicken, hoping to prove that people across the globe are still willing to trek to theaters to see a splashy new movie.
The state of play: Warner Bros. will open “Tenet” in 70 countries, including China, the U.K., Canada and South Korea, on Aug. 26. But it won’t see a U.S. release until a week later.
The big picture: Releasing a major film internationally before it debuts in the U.S. is unusual, but it isn’t unprecedented — although the current state of affairs sure is.
Between the lines: All of this is happening because Nolan is an avowed cinephile who only wants his creation on the big screen, rather than a release that would allow people to watch it at home on demand.
The bottom line: Per an IndieWire report, the movie’s breakeven point is $800 million. That’s a huge sum for a blockbuster to rake in during the best of times — and it’s more than the total worldwide grosses of his last two movies “Interstellar” ($690 million) and “Dunkirk” ($525 million).
Go deeper: Summer’s hottest blockbusters delayed as coronavirus cases rise