While just over 2,800 theaters in the U.S. and Canada were open this weekend for the release of “Tenet,” that did not include major cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Based on early data, those pandemic closures may have sent many cinephiles on the road to find a theater where they could see Christopher Nolan’s latest film.
While Warner Bros. declined to comment for this story, studio insiders tell TheWrap that top markets for “Tenet” on this Labor Day weekend included New Jersey, Connecticut, and California theaters that reopened in San Diego and Napa counties. All these markets are adjacent to major cities that still have non-drive-in theaters closed due to high COVID-19 infection rates, making likely that moviegoers from neighboring counties and states are driving farther than they usually would for a night at the movies.
It’s a trend that was already being seen before “Tenet” was released. Earlier this week, Joseph Masher, COO of Bow Tie Cinemas, told TheWrap that his chain’s locations in Connecticut saw higher-than-expected turnout for the opening weekend of “The New Mutants,” thanks in large part to New York residents who drove up I-95 as their local theaters remained closed.
There is no knowing at this point when the top three cities might reopen theaters. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has remained tight-lipped, and the L.A. County Department of Public Health said two weeks ago that it will not open theaters even if infection rates drop to the point that the California reopening system allows them to do so. San Francisco may be closer to reopening, as it is already hit Tier 2 of reopening protocols, which allows theaters to reopen with a 25% capacity.
That uncertainty will make theaters in closure-adjacent markets like San Diego and New Jersey more important to “Tenet” and other new releases in the coming weeks. New Jersey was a late addition to the Labor Day weekend box office as Gov. Phil Murphy granted dozens of theaters in the state permission to reopen with a 25% capacity limit. While those theaters will hope to see that cap lifted to 50% later this fall, it’s not a problem for now as the lower volume of new releases will just mean that theaters can put “Tenet” on more screens if demand increases. Regardless, the presence of theaters near closed cities could give studios more confidence in sticking with the current release dates for the remainder of 2020, especially if the U.S. can dodge another infection surge like the one that forced “Tenet” off its initial mid-July release date.
Overall, “Tenet” is performing well given the unprecedented circumstances, earning an estimated $20 million opening over the extended Labor Day weekend and nearing $150 million in global grosses. That includes a Nolan-record $30 million opening weekend in China, despite heavy competition from local blockbuster hit “The Eight Hundred.”
While the $200 million film is still a long way from profitability, Warner Bros. is banking on word of mouth giving the film long legs through September, and possibly into October, as more theaters reopen and customer confidence in movie theater safety builds. While not as well-received as past Nolan films like “Dunkirk” and “Inception,” “Tenet” has done well with a B on CinemaScore and Rotten Tomatoes scores of 74% from critics and 80% from audiences.
“The market forces at play here are anything but normal,” Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian told TheWrap. “While interest in ‘Tenet’ itself is high, the big factor for customers isn’t the quality of the film or the theater but rather the experience of going to a theater and the confidence they have that going there will be safe. I think this weekend has gone as well for the box office as anyone in the industry could hope for, and I think that’s a testament to the work the theaters have put in to make sure that their theaters are as safe as possible.”