This article originally appeared on Complex.com
Tenet was supposed to be the chosen one. After months without a new theatrical release due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Christopher Nolan’s latest and greatest was the foundation upon which the future hopes and dreams of the theatrical experience were built. Not unlike Steven Spielberg or Quentin Tarantino, Nolan himself is a brand; a household name studios like Warner Bros. can leverage to draw moviegoers—both casual and hardcore—to theaters to great financial success. It was a smart business strategy to have a known quantity like Nolan and Tenet be the movie to open back up theaters (which is why it was delayed many times). The marketing wrote itself: Big movies are back! It’s safe to return to theaters! See Nolan’s film the way it was meant to be seen! Or so we thought.