So Was 'Tenet' a Flop? Here's What Christopher Nolan Thinks

BY Brock ThiessenPublished Nov 4, 2020

It's been a weird year, and that's especially true in the world of film. While most blockbusters were simply pulled from release, Christopher Nolan's Tenet did come out in theatres despite the pandemic. As such, analysts have been putting the film's box office performance under the microscope ever since — and Nolan himself has now weighed in.

Speaking to the Lost Angeles Times, the director finally addressed Tenet's performance at the box office. The film grossed nearly $350 million USD globally in the two months since its release, leading to many debates on whether that's a good number or a disappointing one.

For Nolan, it is most definitely the former.

"Warner Bros. released Tenet, and I'm thrilled that it has made almost $350 million," Nolan said. "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 added: "Long term, moviegoing is a part of life, like restaurants and everything else. But right now, everybody has to adapt to a new reality."

Numbers aside, Exclaim! definitely thought Tenet was a flop, calling the film "pretentious mumbo-jumbo for stoned teens."

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