CEO of WarnerMedia, John Stankey, is putting to bed the notion that Christopher Nolan's TENET will see a streaming release on HBO Max before its theatrical run. Even though some fans really want that release strategy so they can finally see the film that has encountered several delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and theater closures, Stankey revealed that simply just isn't an option.
The CEO was asked during a conference call with analysts Thursday about the feasibility of releasing major titles like TENET on HBO Max and eliminating their theatrical runs and he doubles down on the fact that for tentpole releases such as this one, he doesn't see that happening:
"Is it going to happen with a movie like Tenet or something like Wonder Woman? I’d be very surprised if that would be the case. In fact, I can assure you with Tenet, that’s not going to be the case."
Stankey gave an interview with CNBC after the conference call and went on to explain why you have to release a film like TENET nationwide and not sporadically. This was in reference to certain theatrical markets being online while major ones such as Los Angeles, remain dormant for the time being:
"It needs to release nationwide. So if you have a major metropolitan area — say, Los Angeles — that’s totally out of check and you have other parts of the country that are totally in control, it doesn’t necessarily give you an option to open it in half the country. It just doesn’t work very well that way."
At the end of the day though, the most important factor in play for TENET is that it's a film that NEEDS the theatrical experience so a release via streaming wouldn't serve the film or Christopher Nolan's vision for it:
"It’s a movie, an experience, that should be seen in theaters. It was engineered to be that way. As a result of that, it needs to show up that way. Certainly, Christopher would like it to be that way. That’s how he wants that piece of work that he’s done to be seen by moviegoers and that’s why it’s going to be something that shows up in a theater."
The narrative with TENET really hasn't changed since the pandemic put its release in question. Streaming was never going to be an option and even though Christopher Nolan really wanted to keep the original date of release, it seems all involved want to make sure the film has a proper theatrical release because that is what the film deserves. This is a $200 million film and it's clear now that the rollout is not going to be traditional but Warner Bros. is doing what they can to give it the release that's warranted while also trying to maintain some kind of return on investment. The studio has never flip-flopped on what they were going to do with TENET. They have been 100% about their intentions and kudos to them for sticking to it despite the demand of the fans to get the film out there by any means necessary.