AT&T CEO admits Tenet was a miss; not optimistic about 2021

[polynucleotide]

AT&T CEO Admits ‘Tenet’ Release Wasn’t A “Home Run” & Is “Not Optimistic” About 2021 Being Better For Films https://t.co/cWsCaKam4A pic.twitter.com/puJjOQWuOO
- The Playlist 🎬 (@ThePlaylist) October 22, 2020

AT&T's CEO John Stankey told investors yesterday what the rest of us have known for quite a while: Tenet was a misfire.

“I can’t tell you that

Comments

[fernandocolunga]

well
who wouldve thought a movie that had a real plane explosion in it wouldnt be able to breakeven during a pandemic
its almost as if.... chris nolan was wrong???
delusional pos

[aristobrit]

It was cheaper to blow up a real plane than to do CGI. That's why they did it.

They did break even, they made over $100 million more than the production budget and it's still opening in theaters around the world, as the virus abates somewhat. It broke Dunkirk box office records in 9 European countries and other box office records in other countries.

It wasn't a failure, it just didn't make the kind of money they hoped it would, but the fact that they chose to open it during a pandemic was really stupid and they had to learn the hard way. You notice how they've moved Dune and Batman to way off in the future? They know now.

It should start streaming next month and the dvd comes out in December. They'll make some money from that.

[fernandocolunga]

lmao you know you're not making any money out of this right?
they didnt break even - the budget was 200 million, in BEST case scenarios the movie has to make double its budget to breakeven, and that's the BEST case scenario and tenet is not close to that

It was cheaper to blow up a real plane than to do CGI. That's why they did it.
or maybe dont then? unless its like a marvel movie guaranteed to make a shitton of money. poor directorial decisions, selfish and id expect nothing else from nolan

You notice how they've moved Dune and Batman to way off in the future? They know now.
nolan knew that. he knew it, the pandemic was already ongoing. it was his ego that caused the movie to be released now, he couldve waited himself.

[aristobrit]

The budget was $205 mil, and it's made $330 mil, and it's still opening around the world. It hasn't even opened in India yet, so there are still big markets to be tapped. I'm not saying it's going to make $500 mil, but it didn't make $20 mil, either. It's not a massive loss.

As for the plane, why not do it? It's a huge set piece in the film, and they got their money's worth. First you say it was too expensive and then when you find out they did it a more economical way, you complain about that as well. So it's all just a lose/lose situation for you?

They all knew releasing the movie when they did was a risk but the idea was to keep theaters from going bankrupt, which we see is what's happening now. AMC has been teetering on the edge of bankruptcy all year, and Regal has closed their theaters.

I just don't have the energy to hate someone who employed a lot of people in the making of the film and tried to keep people working during a pandemic.

[scriptedending]

I was thinking about going to see it at a drive-in, but at this point I'll probably just wait til it's streaming somewhere.

I'm glad they've seemed to realize that next year is not going to be much better, because that's realistic. I think theaters will rebound when people feel safe going to them. Hopefully we see more releases come to streaming - not Fast & Furious 26 or whatever, but smaller scale releases that have been held over.

[ext_2796703]

If 2021 is not better, movie theaters will not rebound. Most will go under and possibly be bought out by Amazon or Disney.

[scriptedending]

I disagree. Ownership of some theaters will definitely change hands, and you're right, Amazon and Disney may get into the theater game. But movie theaters as a way to watch new releases will definitely rebound - most people don't have anything remotely equivalent at home.

[slaughtermatic]

i mean the concept will not tank but if disney owns your theatre the experience we know will never rebound. theyll peddle their own crap while everything else will be pushed aside and that might have consequences to movie production i cant even fathom rn. corona has helped monopolies SM. :/

[colossusx]

terrible movie that deserved this failure.

[dandyxwarhol]

I feel like this message is weird. Of course an expensive movie is going to flop during the pandemic. It probably has less to do with the actual movie and more to do with the fact that people aren't even able to go see it. The only thing you learn from this situation is to not make expensive movies when there is no outlet to show them.

Also side note was listening to Keep It and they were reflecting on how next year there can't really be an Oscars since so few films released. Really weird to think about.

[mwffj]

Bad Boys for Life going to sweep the 2020 Oscars.

[dandyxwarhol]

It's pretty wild that people poo-pooed streaming services as award show contenders for so long when like, that's basically all we have this year.

[mwffj]

Steven Spielberg and his "movies need to be ~experienced~ in theatres" mindset is shooketh

[mwffj]

It's almost as if trying to release movies that require blockbuster crowds to make back their money during a pandemic is a bad idea. It's like movie theaters are dubiously clean in normal circumstances and a pandemic makes that worse and moviegoers respond to that by not going to movie theaters. So weird.