Considered the savior of theaters following its release in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020, the juggernaut Tenet of Christopher nolan, will not have brought in enough money for the Warner, which will even have suffered a small financial deficit. Today, if most of the big companies prefer to release their films simultaneously on streaming platforms (Disney +, Paramount +, HBO Max) to ensure their productions have a plan B in the event of too little attendance in cinemas, Christopher nolan will have braced a reverse decision of the film industry: Tenet will not see the light of day on televisions and will be preferred for a traditional cinema release. He also castigated the decision to Warner to release the films on HBO Max, qualifying Warner of “Worst streaming service”.
A decision welcomed by many, but not by the Warner. Despite its “event” film appearance, Tenet will only have reported $ 363 million in revenue for a non-marketing budget of 205 million. Add to this the prominent advertising given the multiple postponements and you will get an obvious observation: Tenet will have made Warner lose money.
According to Screenrant, the amount would be astronomical: almost $ 50 million of losses. No doubt, however, that if the film had been released during a normal period, it could easily have had a better score. In comparison, Dunkirk had grossed $ 526.5 million in box office revenue versus $ 701.7 million for Interstellar. This failure and the motivations of the Warner to want to register his films for streaming will have resulted in the departure of Nolan towards Universal, with whom the filmmaker has signed an important agreement.