While cinemas have reopened in Ireland, albeit with social distancing measures in place that drastically reduce audience numbers, the US hasn't fared quite so well.
With cases rising once again in the US and China having shuttered all 74,000 cinemas, the likelihood is that the global cinema industry is going to be down close to 80% by the end of the year, according to recent industry analysis.
More specifically, there's now mounting evidence to suggest that 'Tenet' will most likely be pushed from its release date of August 12th. Per a report by Eric Handler of MKM Partners, who specialises in analysing the cinema industry, there's a low likelihood that 'Tenet' will make the release date due to surging cases in populous US states like California, Florida, and Texas.
According to Vulture, Warner Bros. have floated the possibility of releasing 'Tenet' on the date in question - and holding off US releases until cinemas can open properly and safely. However, Christopher Nolan has apparently nixed this idea, as he is keen to support US cinema chains in their time of need.
A rough estimate would suggest that 'Tenet' would make two-thirds of its potential box office with China and the US out of the running, but the other issue is online piracy. Currently, worldwide same-day release dates are set so as to try and limit the damage of online piracy, but if the release dates are staggered, there's a much better chance of that happening.
Here's hoping August 12th still happens.
