Yesterday, it was announced that “Tenet” will delay its release from August 12 to an unknown date in the future. With the uncertainty of that move, we’re fully expecting to see delays from the other studios with films like “Mulan,” as we’ve seen with the previous “Tenet” delays. What that means is the US cinema chains, which expected to reopen on July 31 are now stuck without films to show if/when they open the doors again. And according to the head of the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO), this is a terrible position for exhibitors just looking to make some money for the first time in months.
READ MORE: WB Delays ‘Tenet’ Indefinitely & Says Film Won’t Have A “Traditional” Release
Speaking to Variety, John Fithian, the head of NATO, spoke about the latest “Tenet” delay, and it’s not surprising that the executive isn’t pleased with Warner Bros.’ decision to push Christopher Nolan’s film further into the future.
“Distributors should stick with their dates and release their movies because there’s no guarantee that more markets will be open later this year,” said Fithian. “Until there’s a vaccine that’s widely available, there will not be 100% of the markets open. Because of that, films should be released in markets where it is safe and legal to release them and that’s about 85% of markets in the U.S. and even more globally. They should release their movies and deal with this new normal. Studios may not make the same amount of money that they did before, but if they don’t start distributing films, there’s going to be a big hole in their balance sheets.”
READ MORE: Financial Analyst Predicts Cinemas Will Remain “Largely Closed” Until Mid-2021
Of course, it’s worth mentioning that WB’s announcement did tease the idea of a non-traditional release of “Tenet” when it does arrive in theaters. Because of this, folks are wondering if it’s possible to release Nolan’s film regionally in the US, where theaters are allowed to reopen, instead of waiting for the whole country to be back to work. This seems to be the solution that NATO is endorsing, as it appears that some parts of the US are going to be waiting quite a while before they’re out of the COVID-19 weeds, so to speak.
But even still, this latest delay also puts the theater owners in a tough spot financially, leading to NATO being concerned about the future of some of the biggest cinema chains. In fact, the organization is hoping that the government can once again offer assistance to cinemas, to ensure that these places can reopen when the time is right.
“The economic challenges we face are very real,” he explained. “Without additional help from Congress, theater companies and employees will be in a very, very bad position. And that’s not unique to movie theaters. There are lots and lots of businesses that are struggling to survive this.”
But even if theaters are closed for a while longer and studios are still holding their films, Fithian believes that cinemas will survive. They’ll just look pretty different.
“They’ll still be around, they’ll just be under completely different ownership,” he said. “Many will have to go through bankruptcy. Some will reorganize, others will fold. I have no doubt that on the other side of this, cinemas will be stronger than ever and moviegoing will come back bigger than it was before. But if we don’t find a way to reopen, a lot of jobs will be lost and a lot of companies will go away.”
As mentioned, there’s no way to know when WB will finally release “Tenet” and if it will arrive anytime soon. For the sake of the theatrical business model, clearly the cinemas need it to happen ASAP.
