According to CNN, Christopher Nolan’s painfully-anticipated Tenet will be released internationally on August 26 before a stateside rollout in select American cities on September 2, just before the Labor Day weekend.
A couple things: firstly, this is subject to change depending on the progress (or lack thereof) made in regards to COVID-19. This could all be altered in a heartbeat, as it has many times before. Secondly, Warner Bros hasn’t announced which select U.S. cities will get Tenet on the week of the 2nd. The plan is to release the film in safe parts of the country that are successfully combatting the coronavirus pandemic. But, as you and I both know, there aren’t a whole lot of those places right now. The sections of this country that are doing a good job beating back the virus are doing so because they are keeping things shut down. Crowded movie theaters aren’t really a great idea, even if things seem to be moving in the right direction.
But that’s the plan for now: Tenet will rollout in America in a slow, orderly fashion. It’ll criss-cross through the states when it is safe to do so. It’ll probably launch in New York (if New York continues to do well against COVID-19) followed by other cities and states that are ready for the next stages of re-opening.
Meanwhile, 70 other countries will get Tenet on August 26. Australia, the U.K., Italy, Germany, France, Canada and many more will all get to see the movie days before safe parts of the U.S. It’s a shame that things have come to this but we have no one to blame but ourselves.
I am not convinced the U.S. release will go according to plan. We have a long way to go before many parts of this country can handle theater re-openings and the massive interest that Tenet brings. It’s very possible that the September 2 premiere date is a pipe dream that we will once again miss. But I am quite hopeful that other countries will receive Tenet as planned. That means you’ll want to be extra careful to avoid spoilers come August 26.