Will 'Tenet' be the box office hit Warner Bros. are banking on?

Currently the only two movies set to hit cinemas this July are 'Mulan' and 'Tenet'. Most movies have delayed their releases by several months to a year. But Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. are firmly sticking to the original release date for the blockbuster.

The story line surrounding the latest from Christopher Nolan is still largely obscure, although its star Robert Pattinson recently quashed the time travel theory.

Starring John David Washington, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kenneth Branagh, Pattinson, and Michael Caine, 'Tenet' has been described as "an action epic revolving around international espionage, time travel, and evolution."

It is set to hit cinemas on July 17th and given measures have started to be lifted worldwide, there's a good chance it should make that theatrical release. At least in some cinemas.

Here in Ireland, cinemas will only reopen from August 10th.

According to The Observer, box office analysts have mixed feeling about the prospects for the venture.

With an alleged budget of $200-225 million, it will need to make over $450 million to turn a profit.

The fact that all five of Nolan’s most recent films have grossed at least $525 million at the global box office bodes well. 'Interstellar' and 'Inception' made $665 million and $832 million, respectively.

What's more is that Nolan will reportedly receive 20 percent of 'Tenet's first dollar gross. That means he gets a percentage of the box office revenue beginning with the film’s release rather than when the movie finally turns a profit.

This puts further pressure of course on 'Tenet's box office earnings if Warner Bros. is to walk away with their own sizable slice of the pie.

'Tenet' will require a domestic release of 3,500 theaters (across the likes of New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco) and over 30,000 screens worldwide. Given the times, it seems a bit far fetched.

Moreover, social distancing will likely be instigated in most cinemas. This means they won't be able to fill all the seats in theatres.

Still, only time will tell how and when these measures are relaxed. Moreover movie lovers are dying for the cinema right now.

And what better way to return to theatres than with a big screen epic like 'Tenet'?