Christopher Nolan stands to make an eye-watering amount of money should his new film move ahead with its scheduled release date in July.
The Inception director is said to be leading the charge in preventing Tenet – the new trailer for which you can watch right here – from becoming delayed due to lockdown, which would make it the first new film to be released globally in cinemas in a post-coronavirus world.
While it’s believed this is because the director, who has long been a champion of the theatrical experience, is insistent that the film needs to be seen on the big screen, another possible reason why Nolan is pushing so hard for the film’s July release date has been revealed.
According to Deadline, Nolan cut a deal with Warner Bros that will see him receive 20 per cent of the costly film’s first dollar gross.
If true, this means that he will get paid based on the film’s revenue regardless of what it makes at the box office; most directors usually have to wait until the film makes back its budget and starts turning a profit.
Nolan cut this same deal with Warner Bros before, most likely based on the fact that all five of his most recent releases, including Interstellar and Dunkirk, have made at least $525m at the global box office. In other words, he’s considered a safe pair of hands.
When taking into account the fact that Tenet is the director’s most expensive original film to date (at an approximated $225m, it’s reportedly just $5m cheaper than The Dark Knight Rises), the pressure is higher than ever before, which has undoubtedly been a driving force for Nolan as well as Warner Bros who need the film to make a gargantuan profit for it to be marked down as a success.
Should the film become the first new one to be released since lockdown guidelines are lifted, the box office competition will be non-existent and Nolan could potentially receive more than $100m right off the bat.
For this to happen, though, 80 per cent of the world’s cinemas need to be open, which means that Tenet’s release date will remain up in the air for another month at least.
How the pandemic will effect the film performance when it is eventually released remains to be seen, but, considering Nolan’s lucrative deal, it’s in Warner Bros’ best interest for Tenet to be released on 17 July as planned.
Tenet stars John David Washington and Robert Pattinson.
