For a while now, the hope has been that Tenet will be the movie to kick off the summer box office season. However, with COVID-19 cases spiking across almost every state in North America, that seems highly unlikely, and if theaters in the United States don't re-open, neither will those across the globe.
Veteran box office analyst Eric Handler of MKM Partners recently spoke with Deadline, and revealed that he believes Christopher Nolan's movie has a "low likelihood" of being released on August 12th as planned.
The pandemic is, of course, to blame. President Donald Trump's bid to reignite the economy is believed to have come too soon, and Florida has become the global epicentre for the virus now. This leaves theaters in a tough position because they can't fully operate without new content, and no studios are willing to be the guinea pigs (risking a box office flop and potentially blamed for a spike in cases).
"The near-term outlook for exhibition related stocks remains extremely clouded," Handler explains. "It would be surprising to see theaters able to re-open nationwide before September, at the earliest."
Shockingly, the box office is likely to decline by around 70% from last year's $11.4 billion haul, though things could get better in future. "Beyond this year, we do believe there is pent up demand for consumers to get out of their houses for entertainment although the ramp up in attendance will likely be gradual."
We'll keep you guys updated, but no official announcement about Tenet has been made as of yet.