Exactly two months after his highly-anticipated thriller Tenet hit theaters in the U.S., director Christopher Nolan is opening up about the film’s lukewarm box office.
Tenet has only earned $53.8 million at the domestic box office, though it has fared much better internationally, with $293.3 million for a worldwide tally of $347.1 million.
Despite the tepid domestic result, Nolan told The Los Angeles Times that he was ‘thrilled’ with the worldwide box office, though he adds this is a time for the movie business to adapt.
Speaking out: Exactly two months after his highly-anticipated thriller Tenet hit theaters in the U.S., director Christopher Nolan is opening up about the film’s lukewarm box office
‘Warner Bros. released Tenet, and I’m thrilled that it has made almost $350 million,’ he said, referring to the worldwide box office.
Despite success at the foreign box office, Nolan hasn’t addressed the disappointing domestic box office results, though he added he was ‘worried’ about the studios.
‘But I am worried that the studios are drawing the wrong conclusions from our release — that rather than looking at where the film has worked well and how that can provide them with much needed revenue, they’re looking at where it hasn’t lived up to pre-COVID expectations and will start using that as an excuse to make exhibition take all the losses from the pandemic instead of getting in the game and adapting — or rebuilding our business, in other words,’ he said.
Thrilled: ‘Warner Bros. released Tenet, and I’m thrilled that it has made almost $350 million,’ he said, referring to the worldwide box office
He added that, ‘Long term, moviegoing is a part of life, like restaurants and everything else. But right now, everybody has to adapt to a new reality.’
When he was asked how he saw the ‘outlook of movies,’ he added it was a ‘difficult question to speak to.’
‘If you’re talking about the acceleration of existing trends, that’s something I started reading right at the beginning of the pandemic,’ he added.
New reality: He added that, ‘Long term, moviegoing is a part of life, like restaurants and everything else. But right now, everybody has to adapt to a new reality’
‘And it ignores the reality that 2019 was the biggest year for theatrical films in history,’ he added.
‘They’d made the most money. The admissions were huge. So to me, it’s much more about: What’s the new reality we’re living in?’ the director said.
The director was promoting a new book written about him entitled The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan by British film critic Tom Shone.
Biggest year: ‘And it ignores the reality that 2019 was the biggest year for theatrical films in history,’ he added
While Tenet was released in theaters, with roughly 60% to 70% of theaters across the country open, major markets like Los Angeles and New York City were, and have remained, closed due to COVID-19.
He also spoke about how some fans and critics drew certain similarities between Tenet and his 2010 smash hit Inception.
‘Self-consciousness is death to a filmmaker. It’s not about not repeating yourself. It’s about not repeating yourself,’ he said.
‘It’s about doing what’s best for the story you need to tell and for giving the audience the best experience without considering it as part of a body of work. But the great thing about the way that this project came together is that Tom never made it about considering a body of work. It was just fun. It wasn’t a very self-conscious process; it was a much broader, more colorful conversation than that,’ he added.
Similarities: He also spoke about how some fans and critics drew certain similarities between Tenet and his 2010 smash hit Inception.
Markets: While Tenet was released in theaters, with roughly 60% to 70% of theaters across the country open, major markets like Los Angeles and New York City were, and have remained, closed due to COVID-19