Christopher Nolan: Film studios ‘drawing wrong conclusions’ from Tenet

Director Christopher Nolan believes film studios have been “drawing the wrong conclusions” from the box office performance of his blockbuster Tenet.

Tenet has grossed almost $350m (£270m) globally since August, less than it might have taken in pre-pandemic times.

Nolan said he feared studios would use its performance in some countries as an “excuse” when considering whether to release other films in cinemas.

He said they should focus on “adapting” and “rebuilding our business”.

Many cinemas have been forced to close their doors due to coronavirus, and most other high-profile films have had their releases delayed or moved to streaming.

Nolan told The Los Angeles Times that Warner Bros had made the decision to release his action sci-fi thriller, the first major studio cinema release since the beginning of the pandemic.

The British film-maker said he was “thrilled” that Tenet had made as much money as it had – which was more than some thought possible during a pandemic.

Yet he was also concerned that it had been unfairly judged by the standards of 2019, “the biggest year for theatrical films in history”.

‘Pre-Covid expectations’
“I am worried that the studios are drawing the wrong conclusions from our release,” said Nolan.

“That rather than looking at where the film has worked well and how that can provide them with much needed revenue, they’re looking at where it hasn’t lived up to pre-Covid expectations.”

He said he feared studios would “start using that as an excuse to make [cinema] exhibition take all the losses from the pandemic instead of getting in the game and adapting – or rebuilding our business, in other words.

“Long term, moviegoing is a part of life, like restaurants and everything else. But right now, everybody has to adapt to a new reality.”

Several major UK cinema chains, including Cineworld and Vue, closed their doors last month after the producers of the upcoming James Bond film postponed its release again. Others remained open, showing titles such as Saint Maud, After We Collided and Bill & Ted Face the Music.

However, from this Thursday, all cinemas in England will have to close their doors once again for at least a month due to the second national lockdown.

Before Tenet, Nolan was best known for such films as Dunkirk, Interstellar and the three Batman films that make up the Dark Knight trilogy.

BBC