Warner Bros Delays Tenet Release Because Of COVID-19 Spikes

Christopher Nolan's Tenet was supposed to be one of the biggest movie releases of the summer, but it seems the COVID-19 pandemic is making Warner Bros push the movie's release back. The good news is that while Tenet is getting delayed again, it isn't getting delayed by much – instead of releasing on July 31st, Warner Bros will instead be release Tenet in mid-August.

The movie will premiere on August 12th, according to Hollywood Reporter. Apparently, Warner Bros made this decision because of the COVID-19 spikes we've been seeing in some regions around the US. The delay pushes Tenet back by less that two weeks, though this isn't the first time the movie has been delayed.

Originally, Tenet was set to debut on July 17th, but it was pushed back to the 31st to accommodate theaters that wouldn't be open by then. In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros suggested that it was still flexible with the release date of Tenet, and that it plans to give the movie a longer theatrical run than normal.

"Warner Bros. is committed to bringing Tenet to audiences in theaters, on the big screen, when exhibitors are ready and public health officials say it's time," the company said. "In this moment what we need to be is flexible, and we are not treating this as a traditional movie release. We are choosing to open the movie mid-week to allow audiences to discover the film in their own time, and we plan to play longer, over an extended play period far beyond the norm, to develop a very different yet successful release strategy."

We'll have to see how the situation plays out from here. Obviously, Warner Bros can't release the movie if many theaters are still closed, so when Tenet is released ultimately depends on what happens with the COVID-19 pandemic in the coming weeks. For now, at least, Tenet will be out on August 12th.