Box Office Report: ‘Tenet’ Soars…in 2020 Terms
BY SCOTTIE KNOLLIN
In a typical year, a $20 million North American debut for a Christopher Nolan movie would be called a massive failure. But, in 2020, after months of delays, it’s a strong enough opening to officially call this Labor Day weekend a successful return to “normal,” whatever that may mean moving forward.
“Tenet,” Nolan’s eagerly-anticipated action thriller, opened in about 2,800 theaters across most markets, though cinemas in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco have yet to reopen.
Warner Bros. had expected the film to earn between $20-30 million, so it’s worth noting that the actual weekend total falls just barely at the bottom of those expectations. It’s a sign that audiences are still somewhat reluctant to return to the theater without consistent health requirements and a readily available COVID vaccine.
Worldwide, “Tenet” has nearly earned $150 million. It opened in major markets overseas last week.
Disney’s “Mulan” live-action adaptation of its own animated classic debuted on its Disney+ streaming service after multiple rescheduled release dates. Users of the service were required to pay a $30 premium fee to stream the epic. While Disney has yet to release the numbers, something they may never do, the film did open to theaters in some international markets. From 9 overseas markets, “Mulan” earned $5.9 million.
The other recent wide releases slowly floundered as higher-quality fare has now released. In its second week, “The New Mutants” earned around $3 million. Its box office total, so far, sits at $12.3 million. Neither “Unhinged” nor “The Personal History of David Copperfield” barely crossed $1 million this weekend.
“Tenet” will serve as the only major release for the next few weeks as theaters wait for “Wonder Woman 1984” to open on October 2nd. That is, if the pandemic doesn’t shake things up again.
CURRENT TOP TEN FILMS:
(Only seven titles make up the Top Ten due to the lack of new releases.)
TENET - $20.2 million
THE NEW MUTANTS - $2.87 million
UNHINGED - $1.67 million
THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD - $1 million
THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE ON THE RUN - $345,000
WORDS ON BATHROOM WALLS - $282,370
MY BROTHERS’ CROSSING - $17,350
Numbers provided by BoxOfficeMojo.com.
