So Tenet actively hurt cinemas because they re-opened largely for that, and now they don't have any product to show, because it's a pandemic.

Thanks, Chris. https://twitter.com/mikeryan/status/1305230595707068416

The US box office made $15 million *total* this weekend, and over a third was Tenet. They never should have re-opened right now, and closing a second time will cause them even more damage. Those initial high openers are obviously big Nolan/X-Men fans, but most are staying away.

The simple matter is that Tenet was never going to save cinemas by itself. Rarely are cinemas dominated by one movie, and Tenet isn't Star Wars. It relies on a constant churn of high-interest releases that build a marketplace. We don't have that at present, nor should we.

It is also a good time to refer back to this article from August about the terms WB dictated for playing Tenet, including a 63% rental term, and how long it must play for at each site. These terms are likely screwing over cinemas hard now, making it worse. https://www.indiewire.com/2020/08/tenet-tickets-on-sale-august-21-1234580302/

Not only were WB reluctant to release actual numbers for Tenet, but it turns out that $20 million US opening was *vastly* inflated. Tenet is a complete bust in the US, deservedly so. https://www.the-numbers.com/news/248050830-Weekend-estimates-Mulan-posts-disappointing-23-2-million-opening-in-China-Tenet-crosses-200-million-worldwide

I don't know if there's really any movie that would drive people to cinemas by itself, but it isn't Tenet, a movie which branded itself on mystery to the point no one knew what it was about.

And after seeing it, many people still don't know what it was about.