With territories across the world beginning to reopen after the COVID-19 pandemic (whether you may think it’s too early or not), it appears that business owners are hoping that the worldwide economy can quickly bounce back after many countries imposed quarantines on its population. For the CEO of Vue, the European cinema chain, he thinks everything should be able to get back to pre-pandemic levels soon enough, thanks in part to Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet.”
Speaking to Variety, CEO Tim Richards says Vue will be able to bounce back because of the change in schedules for movie-goers, as well as the intrigue of Nolan’s latest feature.
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“We’re going to be doing similar levels of box office to pre-COVID-19. We’re just going to be doing them in a very different way,” the exec said. “We’re going to be playing movies longer, and there’s going to be a considerable amount of time shifting where customers who may be part of flexible working arrangements — or those who may just be concerned about going to a busy cinema on a Friday night — are going to go and watch ‘Tenet’ on a Tuesday afternoon because they can, and they want to see the movie.”
The CEO also said that before Warner Bros. landed on the July 31 release date for “Tenet,” the studio was floating around the idea of an August 7 release, three weeks after the original date. However, it appears that WB is going to stand firm with its July 31 plans.
“July 31 now feels like a firm day and there are marketing commitments being made,” he said. “Once that was actually locked down, we saw all the other studios adapt. Before, when you were looking at the period between [July] and Christmas, there were little holes and gaps. Now, we’re seeing movies that have got breathing space right through until Christmas.”
Of course, even though folks like Richards and other cinema chains are confident that people are itching to get back to the movie theaters, it’s still unclear if the general population is willing to risk their health to watch Nolan’s latest film. We’ll start to find out the answer to that question next month, obviously. And hopefully, for WB’s sake, the film is still able to do alright at the box office. Otherwise, this is going to look like a very silly move for Nolan and the studio.