Tenet is back in theaters, and the IMAX re-release is redeeming the film’s 2020 performance in one impressive way. Directed by Christopher Nolan, Tenet stars John David Washington as the Protagonist, a spy who joins a secret organization and harnesses the power of time inversion to stop a world-threatening terrorist plot. The film hit theaters at the height of the pandemic in 2020, and ultimately earned only $365.3 million worldwide, but it’s recently been re-released in IMAX in select theaters for one week to promote the release of Dune: Part Two.
Over the weekend, Tenet‘s re-release brought in a total of $600,000 from 55 IMAX locations around the world, per Collider. While, on the whole, this number does little to soothe the losses from Tenet‘s original theatrical run, the film’s per-theater average is more than $10,000, which is an impressive feat. In addition to regular IMAX, 12 theaters are also playing the re-release in 70mm, a format that proved especially popular with Oppenheimer.
Tenet Ending Explained: Word Meaning, Time Travel & All Questions Answered
The word Tenet and its meaning have plagued viewers of Christopher Nolan’s epic since it premiered in 2020, and the movie offers quite a few answers.
Tenet’s Disappointing 2020 Box Office Explained
Why The Christopher Nolan Movie Underperformed
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had a big impact on the movie theater business in 2020. With so many theaters unable to consistently stay open due to regulations and coronavirus outbreaks, Warner Bros. shifted to a day and date release strategy, which saw blockbusters released in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously (without filmmakers being notified of the change). Nolan was an outspoken critic of Warner Bros.’ day and date decision, and he pushed to have Tenet released exclusively in theaters as a lifeline to the format that he loved.
Unfortunately, this strategy didn’t work. Tenet‘s box office was an undoubted disappointment, and the movie made only $58.5 million domestically. With a staggering $200 million budget, the film represented one of the most expensive movies Nolan had ever made. The reviews for Tenet were also somewhat mixed, especially by Nolan standards, with some audiences and critics taking issue with the film’s overly complex plot.
In subsequent years, however, Tenet would experience something of a resurgence in popularity as more audiences got their hands on the film. While it remains a divisive entry in Nolan’s larger filmography, it’s still a thrilling blockbuster action experience, and this is reflected in the movie’s impressive per-theater average with its recent re-release.
Tenet
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Armed with only one word—Tenet—and fighting for the survival of the entire world, a nameless Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- September 3, 2020
- Studio(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Writers
- Christopher Nolan
- Cast
- Kenneth Branagh , John David Washington , Michael Caine , Robert Pattinson , Elizabeth Debicki , Dimple Kapadia , Aaron Taylor-Johnson , Clemence Poesy
- Runtime
- 150 minutes
- Franchise(s)
- Tenet
- Budget
- $200 million
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