As we made our way through the early days of the pandemic lockdown and studio blockbusters started shifting their release dates, some movies being delayed for a year, one that refused to move was Christopher Nolan's TENET, with Warner Bros. insisting that this blockbuster was going to be in theatres this summer. TENET kept its July 17th release date for a long time, then it shifted to July 31st. Now it has vacated July completely, moving back a couple weeks to August 12th.
According to TENET's official synopsis,
John David Washington is the new Protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s original sci-fi action spectacle “Tenet.” Armed with only one word—Tenet—and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time. Not time travel. Inversion.
Washington is joined in the cast by Robert Pattinson, Kenneth Branagh, Elizabeth Debicki, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Dimple Kapadia, Clémence Poésy, Michael Caine, Himesh Patel, Martin Donovan, and Denzil Smith.
BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC (which is, of course, the long-awaited sequel to BILL & TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE and BILL & TED'S BOGUS JOURNEY) was originally scheduled to be released on August 21st, then moved up a week to August 14th. Since TENET moved to August 12th, MGM has pushed BILL & TED back to August 28th.
Directed by Dean Parisot from a screenplay by franchise writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC stars Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, and has the following synopsis:
When we last met Bill and Ted they were time-traveling teenagers trying to pass history class and win the battle of the bands. Once prophesized to save the universe with their rock and roll, middle age and the responsibilities of family have caught up with these two best friends who have not yet fulfilled their destiny. They’ve written thousands of tunes, but they have yet to write a good one, much less the greatest song ever written. With the fabric of time and space tearing around them, a visitor from the future warns our heroes that only their song can save life as we know it. Out of luck and fresh out of inspiration, Bill and Ted set out on a time travel adventure to seek the song that will set their world right and bring harmony in the universe as we know it. Together with the aid of their daughters, a new crop of historical figures, and some sympathetic music legends, Bill and Ted find much, much more than just a song.
Samara Weaving, Brigette Lundy-Paine, William Sadler, Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi, Kristen Schaal, Anthony Carrigan, Erinn Hayes, Jayma Mays, Jillian Bell, Holland Taylor, Beck Bennett, Hal Landon Jr., and Amy Stoch are also in the cast.
Meanwhile, Solstice Studios has decided that their Russell Crowe thriller UNHINGED needs a new release date. The movie's original release date was August 28th, then it stepped back to September 4, then when the July release schedule cleared it out it was moved up to July 10th, aiming to be the first major release when theatres re-opened. Now Solstice has moved it to July 31st.
Directed by Derrick Borte and written by Carl Ellsworth, UNHINGED is a
timely psychological thriller that explores the fragile balance of a society pushed to the edge, taking something we've all experienced- road rage – to an unpredictable and terrifying conclusion. Rachel is running late to work when she has an altercation at a traffic light with a stranger (Crowe) whose life has left him feeling powerless and invisible. Soon, Rachel finds herself and everyone she loves the target of a man who decides to make one last mark upon the world by teaching her a series of deadly lessons. What follows is a dangerous game of cat and mouse that proves you never know just how close you are to someone who is about to become unhinged.
Crowe's co-stars include Caren Pistorius, Gabriel Bateman, and Jimmi Simpson.
Comscore reports that 1,072 of the 5,400 theatres (give or take) in the U.S. are currently open. That count includes drive-ins, which are having a resurgence during the pandemic.