Box Office Report: ‘Tenet’ Crosses $40 Million in North America
BY SCOTTIE KNOLLIN
Hollywood can thank international audiences for keeping the box office somewhat rolling along as Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” slowly climbs up the charts. The film, which has now crossed $40 million in the U.S., has officially earned more than $280 million worldwide. This weekend, in the North American market, the thriller earned just $3.4 million. That was enough to keep the film in the number one spot for the weekend box office, but is a dismal number in terms of a typical, non-pandemic weekend.
“Tenet” played in 2,850 theaters in North America this weekend. Of note, most cinemas in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City, home to the country’s busiest theaters, are still closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The weekend box office should continue to be slow as studios are moving tentpole releases to next year in hopes things will be back to normal. Last week, Disney announced “Black Widow”, “West Side Story”, and “Death on the Nile” will all be 2021 releases. It has yet to move its Pixar film, “Soul”, again after rescheduling it to this November. There are rumors it could end up going to route of “Mulan” and releasing on Disney+. MGM’s “No Time to Die” is still set to release on November 20, 2020.
Of the new films released to theaters this weekend, “Shortcut” had the best showing, earning $305,000 in 725 theaters. Sony Pictures’ “The Last Shift” opened to 871 theaters and earned $235,000. Miranda July’s critically-praised “Kajillionaire” opened in 529 theaters and earned $215,000.
THIS WEEKEND’S TOP TEN:
(Bold signifies new releases.)
TENET - $3,400,000
THE NEW MUTANTS - $1,147,000
UNHINGED - $1,000,000
STAR WARS: EPISODE V - THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - $908,000
INFIDEL - $745,000
THE BROKEN HEARTS GALLERY - $470,000
SHORTCUT - $305,000
THE LAST SHIFT - $235,000
KAJILLIONAIRE - $215,000
THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE ON THE RUN - $140,000
Box office numbers provided by BoxOfficeMojo.com