‘Tenet’ Rakes In $53 Million Overseas, Exceeding Low Box Office Expectations
Tenetjust pulled off the most impossible heist yet: a decent box office haul during a pandemic. TheChristopher Nolan-directed blockbuster opened overseas this past weekend to a $53 million box office haul — surpassing the timid $40 million international box office estimates made ahead ahead of its release. It’s a silver lining on a very dark and stormy cloud, as Warner Bros. prepares to openTenetin U.S. theaters amid rising coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and warnings from experts.
Coronavirus cases may be rising across the U.S., but hey at leastTenetmade more money than industry insiders thought they would. The Christopher Nolan espionage movie starringJohn David WashingtonandRobert Pattinsonmanaged to blowlow international box office expectationsout of the water, earning $53 million at the international box office over the course of five days following its August 26 release.
The movie opened in 41 international markets, including Canada, showing on 20,000 screens total. Per a Warner Bros. Sunday report (viaCollider), 32 markets in Europe and Middle East and Africa, where the film showed on 13,146 screens, accounted for $37 million ofTenet’s international gross.Tenetalso opened at No. 1 in every international market, with the top-earning markets being the United Kingdom ($7.1 million), France ($6.7 million), Korea ($5.1 million), and Germany ($4.2 million).
Warner Bros. Pictures chairmanToby Emmerichreleased a statement onTenet’s international box office success:
“We are off to a fantastic start internationally and couldn’t be more pleased. Christopher Nolan has once again delivered an event worthy motion picture that demands to be seen on the big screen, and we are thrilled that audiences across the globe are getting the opportunity to seeTenet. Thank you to our exhibition partners for their tireless efforts in reopening their cinemas in a safe and socially-distanced way. Given the unprecedented circumstances of this global release we know we’re running a marathon, not a sprint, and look forward to long playability for this film globally for many weeks to come.”
ButTenet’s success at overseas markets can’t decently predict how the highly anticipated film will do in the U.S. The movie can’t open everywhere in the States — many states aren’t ready yet, and it was recently reported that Warner Bros. islimitingwhere the film can screen in drive-ins. With the U.S. recentlytopping 6 million coronavirus cases, it is dangerous to recommend that people go to the handful ofrecently reopened theaters.
Tenetearly access screenings in U.S. theaters begin on August 31.Tenetwill be released onSeptember 3, 2020.
