"Tenet" is Back On in 70 Countries This August

Scene from Tenet (2020)

Well, it didn't take long for Christopher Nolan to fall back on his old ways. It was recently announced that Tenet was going to be postponed indefinitely. It made sense all things considered. However, it looks like theaters may be opening back up sometime soon. While America may still be a state of fluctuation, there is a good chance that audiences around the world will be getting to see the film a whole lot sooner. Yes, after some deliberation it's been revealed that Tenet will be playing in theaters this August... it just depends on where you live and how willing you are to risk your health. 

For months now, Tenet has been at the forefront of theatrical releases. Nolan personally refuses to budge on having his film premiere on the biggest screens possible. In a normal year, this wouldn't be a problem. However, 2020 is ripe with COVID-19, and going out into crowds is a very big risk. It's what kept it from meeting its previous deadline a few weeks prior. Now it looks like things are going to work out. That is, if you live anywhere but the United States.

I personally doubt that Tenet is going to meet its Labor Day weekend goal. Based on the current trajectory of COVID-19 case infections, it does feel like we're months (if that) away from having any form of stability. There is no certainty anymore, and yet Tenet wants to push boundaries. It's understandable why it wants to be a theatrical release, but why not just postpone until a point where it seems viable? It's doubtful that it's a film that has a pressing time crunch. It can come out next summer without much momentum lost.

For those who live in countries like Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, or the United Kingdom, there's a good chance that your wait is almost over. According to Warner Bros., there are 70 countries being eyed for a late-August release. This could be a great way to garner interest in theater. Given that these countries have been more successful at containing the virus, it's a good way to show what life can look like. That's still a risk given that we're not yet at 0% positive cases, but it will be a decent test to see if life can return to normal. The United States are scheduled for Labor Day weekend while other markets, like China, have yet to be considered.

As much as Tenet is one of the most anticipated movies of the year, one has to question the ethics of going to see it. With crowded areas still drawing in record cases weeks after, this may be a hot spot for disaster. It's tough to truly know. Maybe this is a useless story that will have to be updated shortly due to outbreaks. It's hard to know, but it doesn't feel like this will be the convenient ending that we want. Things will continue to clang along. Where the indefinite hiatus freed them of any headaches, the idea of moving forward in 2020 still feels like a gamble that probably isn't for the best. Still, it's one way to keep your movie in the spotlight. One could hope it was just in a much saner way.