Christopher Nolan's Tenet failed to attract audiences in the United States, but was a surprise hit at the Chinese box office. Tenet finally released in September after three previous premiere dates were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and theaters that hoped that its U.S. box office would revive the struggling industry were disappointed with its lackluster haul. Tenet's domestic failure is a sign that American audiences aren't willing to go back to theaters yet - but its success in China signals Nolan's films can still do well in extenuating circumstances.
Nolan became one of the most successful directors of the 2000s and 2010s with Inception. Warner Bros. was willing to take a risk opening Tenet in movie theaters, hoping Nolan's name would help the film turn a profit - even with only 65% of American movie theaters open, and mostly operating with 25-40% capacity (via Deadline.) With Dunkirk and Interstellar both grossing $188 million domestically, Tenet was a good opportunity for Warner Brothers to test its tentpole sci-fi film even in these uncertain times.
However, Tenet underperformed spectacularly in the U.S., even adjusting to other pandemic releases. 's domestic box office of $60.9 million, although Mulan didn't open in theaters, but was available on demand. Despite its domestic failures, Tenet was much more successful in China, nearly overtaking the Chinese war movie The Eight Hundred and nearly matching Inception's $68 million Chinese box office only three weeks into its release (via Forbes.) Tenet's objective success in China, compared to its relative failure in the United States, is a warning sign for American movie theaters hoping to reopen.
Tenet's Box Office In the United States & China Explained
's total domestic box office was a paltry $36.1 million.
Tenet has been more successful overseas, and particularly in China, debuting at $29.6 million and projected to gross $66.9 million in the Chinese box office despite competition from the popular Chinese war movie The Eight Hundred (via Variety.) If Tenet reaches that projected gross in China, it would almost match Inception's $68 million Chinese box office despite premiering during a pandemic. Despite Tenet's strong opening China, its share fo the theaters (that is, percentage of theaters that are screening the movie) decreased from 42.4% to 33.8% as The Eight Hundred overtook it (via Variety.)
Frustratingly, Warners has not been as transparent with Tenet's box office numbers as they have been in the past. WB initially announced debuted at $40 million its opening weekend, but later clarified that $40 million encomed a period of eleven days that included nine previews in Canada, a Thursday opening, and the long Labor Day weekend. Additionally, instead of releasing Tenet's box office gross by the day (as they normally do), Warner Bros. waited until Sunday to release Tenet's opening weekend gross. Still, while Tenet's box office is disappointing compared to Nolan's other films, it can reasonably be considered a soft success due to the circumstances surrounding its troubled release.
Why Tenet Underperformed In The U.S.
The obvious reason Tenet underperformed is movie theater closures due to the pandemic. 35% of theaters in the U.S. remain closed, and almost all the open movie theaters have limited capacity. Past that, the biggest U.S. movie markets - New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco - still remain closed entirely, meaning that Tenet couldn't premiere at all in the parts of the country where movies typically do their best. Compared to The New Mutants, which also premiered exclusively in movie theaters and debuted at $7 million, Tenet seems like a success - but its a disappointment to the many people who though Tenet would do significantly better. Tenet was impeded by the movie theater closure, but that wasn't the only reason it failed.
Tenet also suffered massively from being too confusing for some audiences. Nolan's other mind-bending genre films, Interstellar and succeeded despite their confusing structures because they kept the premise of the film straightforward. On the other hand, Tenet is Christopher Nolan's most complicated movie to date, and its reputation for being near impossible to hear dialogue also had an impact on attendance, even though it had basically no competition.
Nolan also made the miscalculated choice to keep the film exclusively in theaters, while most new movies premiering during the theater closure are also releasing on demand. Nolan and WB hoped 's theatrical release - instead of on demand - would incentivize people to go back to theaters, but that never happened. Mulan, which released exclusively on Disney+ for people to stream at home, made $60.9 million its first weekend. Tenet's disappointing $20.2 million box office might have been salvaged if the film had been released on demand in addition to just in theaters.
Why Tenet Performed Better In China Than The U.S.
A major reason Tenet performed better in China than the U.S. is Chinese movie theaters have been open since July and are back to normal levels of accessibility. Tenet is not breaking ground as the first major movie to premiere in China after the theaters reopened, and it's following the Chinese premieres of Onward, Trolls World Tour, and the re-releases of Inception and Interstellar. Because theaters have already been open for several months, Chinese audiences were ready for Tenet's premiere and its Chinese box office is comparable to Nolan's other releases.
Tenet did see major competition from The Eight Hundred, and managed to succeed in China despite that. Tenet's opening in China was highly anticipated, as Chinese audiences strongly favor action-spectacle films over other movies from the U.S. (Interstellar earned 18% of its worldwide gross in China alone.) 's biggest hurdle in China was its 150 minute runtime, which sured the previous restriction that no films longer than 120 minutes can be screened as a coronavirus precaution. To overcome that, Nolan and Warner Brothers launched a major marketing campaign in China - and it clearly paid off. Tenet was under pressure to perform in China after Mulan's failure, and it more than made up for it.
How Big A Success Was Tenet In China?
Because of 2020's disrupted film industry, it's difficult to find other movies to compare. In 2019 , Tenet would only be the 30th largest movie in China - but compared to Western movies only, it would have beaten X-Men: Dark Phoenix (whose $59 million Chinese box office was touted as a strength.) Compared to other Christopher Nolan movies, Tenet's Chinese box office has already sured Dunkirk and is projected to match Inception. Tenet can't be called a mega hit, but it's still looking reasonably solid.
Tenet faced an uphill battle by exclusively premiering in movie theaters, and failed to prove that its theatrical release would incentivize American audiences to see the film. However, Tenet's success in China despite its runtime and competition from The Eight Hundred proves Christopher Nolan's mind-bending movies still have a massive global market. Tenet suffered from Nolan's determination that the movie be released exclusively in theaters, and the film was further disadvantaged by its reputation as being too confusing and slate of mixed reviews. Christopher Nolan's latest film is a bad sign for those big-budget movie premieres that were hoping to capitalize on the success of Tenet.
