Tenet debuts with $20.2 million at the domestic box office as it nears $150 million worldwide

With anywhere between 65% and 70% of movie theaters now open in North America, Warner Bros. debuted the highly-anticipated Tenet to rather underwhelming results.

Tenet, the latest from writer-director Christopher Nolan, debuted with $20.2 million at the domestic box office, according to Variety. 

The thriller opened in several international markets before its domestic debut, as it nears $150 million worldwide.

Tenet was initially slated to open in theaters back in July, but it was pushed into August and then this weekend over the Labor Day holiday.

The film, which stars John David Washington and Robert Pattinson, earned $20.2 million from 2,810 theaters, earning a solid $7,188 per-screen average.

However, since several major theatrical markets are still closed, such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, that likely cost the film untold millions from its opening weekend gross.

Tenet added an additional $78.3 million from foreign markets this weekend, bringing its global box office tally to $146.2 million. 

Tenet was the first major studio blockbuster to open nationwide, after theaters across the country were shuttered in mid-March due to COVID-19. 

While on the surface the debut seems like a solid one for Warner Bros., those numbers also include an entire week of sneak peek screenings in several theaters across the country. 

Warner Bros. revealed in a note to press members that the studio was, ‘very pleased’ with the opening weekend, indicating that Tenet’s roll-out will be more of a ‘marathon,’ as opposed to a typical release that is heavily front-loaded with emphasis on the film’s opening weekend.

‘There is literally no context in which to compare the results of a film opening during a pandemic with any other circumstance,’ the studio said in their note.

‘We are in unprecedented territory, so any comparisons to the pre-COVID world would be inequitable and baseless,’ the note added.  

With the film boasting a massive $200 million production budget, with several millions also spent to promote the film, the studio may indeed need a marathon to turn a profit on Tenet. 

Box office analyst David A. Gross of FranchiseRe called Tenet’s debut a ‘fair opening’ since there are still a ‘significant number of key U.S. states and cities still closed.’

While several cities like Los Angeles have been relying on drive-in theaters to release films in a social-distancing environment, Warner Bros. issued strict guidelines that Tenet can only play in drive-in theaters in markets where indoor theaters are open.

Disney/Fox’s The New Mutants dropped nearly 60% to second place, earning $2.8 million from 2,754 theaters for a $1,042 per-screen average, bringing its domestic total to $11.6 million.

Unhinged dropped to third place with $1.7 million from 2,402 theaters for a paltry $695 per-screen average, bringing its domestic total to $11.3 million.

Looking ahead to next weekend, the only film opening in wide release is Sony’s The Broken Heart’s Gallery, in theaters September 11, with others like Rent-A-Pal and Find Your Voice opening in limited release.