‘Tenet’ Time Warps To July 31; ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Moves To October

The summer movie season is delayed once again.
Variety reports Christopher Nolan‘s new film, Tenet, has been pushed back from July 17th to July 31st. The move comes as movie theater chains prepare to reopen and other sectors brace for higher rates of COVID-19 cases. The film, a seeming spy-thriller involving the ability to make short jumps backward in time, was expected to be the first high profile release of a summer season put on hold by the coronavirus pandemic. But it seems that season will have to wait two more weeks to begin.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Pictures has also delayed the debut of Wonder Woman 1984, the long-awaited sequel to Patty Jenkins‘s Wonder Woman. Originally scheduled for release last November, the film switched to a May release while still in production, only to move to August as it became clear movie theaters would have to shutter in the Spring. Now, the August date has been pushed to October 2nd.
Despite the enthusiasm surrounding the reopening of various economic centers, it would seem WarnerMedia is still wary of opening a blockbuster-sized film in an era where the crowds needed to recoup their investments just might not show up. Worse, it is possible the studio sees the uptick in virus cases as the arrival of a second wave — even if it may be a continuation of the first — well before it was expected to occur sometime in the Fall.
Unfortunately, it’s a difficult place for the studio to be in as product has to be released at some point.
To instill some confidence in theatrical exhibition, Warner Bros. will put Nolan’s film Inception in theaters on July 17th. Additionally, two mid-budget releases, the Russell Crowe picture Unhinged and Sony’s The Broken Hearts Gallery, are expected to debut on July 10th. But with a month to go before some movie theaters resume operation, it remains to be seen if this will be the case.
All that said, we hope you have a drive-in theater in your area so you can watch some of these new releases in the safest way possible. Also, you get to experience movie-going as it once was 50 years ago.