Tenet Release Date Set for August–September in Over 70 Countries

A new staggered release plan for Tenet — Christopher Nolan's time-bending espionage epic movie — has been set, as promised. A week after Warner Bros. said it would announce a new release date “imminently” and days after a report hinted at a late August debut, the studio has unveiled Tenet release dates for 70 countries between August 26 and September 18. That includes the likes of the US, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, and Japan. India is not on the list, which makes sense given the government has yet to even discuss the reopening of cinemas, with the coronavirus continuing to sweep through the country.

Tenet will release on Wednesday, August 26 in Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. The Nolan film will open Thursday, August 27 in Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Israel, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Middle East, New Zealand, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates. And on Friday, August 28, Tenet will roll out in East Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, and Vietnam.

The following week on Thursday, September 3, Tenet arrives in Kuwait, Qatar, and the United States. The week after that on Thursday, September 10, Tenet premieres in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States. Tenet debuts Thursday, September 17 in Cyprus and Friday, September 18 in Japan. India is not the only country without a Tenet release date as yet. That list also includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Most of those countries are also suffering from the coronavirus, except China, where Warner Bros. has yet to receive the greenlight from the government.

Of course, even the countries that have a Tenet release date, there's no guarantee that the Nolan movie will open in all cities on the same day. The pandemic situation can change drastically within a few weeks and the new release dates are still a month away or more. That's exactly why Tenet has been delayed thrice in the past, as Warner Bros.' most important home market — the US — has seen new spikes in coronavirus cases over recent weeks, in part due to lockdowns being eased earlier than advised. Allowing audiences into movie theatres fits squarely into that bracket. It also remains to be seen whether audiences feel comfortable enough to visit cinemas, especially at the level a $200-million (Rs. 1,500-crore) film like Tenet needs to turn a profit.

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