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Disney's "Hocus Pocus," a Bette Middler comedy
that flopped when it was initially released in 1993, but became
a cult hit on cable and streaming, almost matched "Tenet's"
grosses in North America and beat those of "The New Mutants."
Re-released just in time for Halloween," "Hocus Pocus" picked up
$1.9 million from 2,570 theaters. "Tenet" earned $2.7 million
from 2,722 venues, pushing its domestic haul to a paltry $45.1
million. "The New Mutants" eked out $1 million from 2,154
locations, bringing its domestic total to $20.9 million.
"Tenet' has struggled to attract stateside audiences with the
kind of fervor that typically greets Nolan films such as
"Inception" and "Dunkirk." Audiences seem hesitant to return to
cinemas when coronavirus infection rates remain stubbornly high
in the U.S., but the weak results are also attributable to the
fact that major markets such as Los Angeles and New York haven't
allowed theaters to reopen due to the pandemic.
"Tenet" has fared much better overseas, grossing $14.2 million
globally this weekend from 59 markets. That pushed the
international total to $262 million and the worldwide haul to
$307 million. Normally, that figure would signal disaster for a
$200 million film with an elaborate marketing campaign. In
pandemic times, the results have to be weighed more charitably,
even if they suggest "Tenet" will lose millions during its
theatrical run. Warner Bros., the studio behind "Tenet,"
believes the film will make more money by launching in theaters
than it would have if it had debuted on video-on-demand or on
HBO Max. That strategy would have been a tough, likely
impossible sell for Nolan, who is a vociferous champion of the
theatrical experience, but it also would have impacted the
studio's ability to maximize ancillary revenues such as digital
rentals, sales and television licensing deals.
The situation for theaters, however, remains dire. On Friday,
news broke that MGM, Eon Productions and Universal were delaying
the November release of "No Time to Die" until 2021, depriving
cinemas of a James Bond film at a time when they have no
blockbusters left to release for months. Then over the weekend,
Cineworld announced it was considering closing its U.K. cinemas
back down, as well as shuttering Regal Cinemas, the U.S.
exhibitor it bought in 2018. Other theater chains could follow
suit if they believe it will be too costly to keep their
marquees lit without major films to play. If that happens, it
will mean the loss of tens of thousands of jobs and could cause
both exhibition giants and independently-owned, smaller theaters
to go bankrupt.
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