With reported cases of the coronavirus surging, 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 Aug. 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 theaters had been pinning their hopes on the film as a major July release that could bring audiences back to theaters.
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 theaters will be allowed to open as planned in major markets like New York and Los Angeles.
