Though it may feel a lot longer, it’s only been three months since theaters started closing, resulting in any movies that were supposed to hit the big screen in the interim period being either delayed or transitioning into a VOD release, among other types of postponements. However, now theaters are starting to open back up, which means that new cinematic offerings will start trickling in. There’s particularly been a lot of talk of how Christopher Nolan’s next movie, Tenet, will help revitalize the theatrical business when it arrives on July 31.
While Tenet is certainly a highly-anticipated movie and will surely draw a lot of folks in, it’s not the first new movie that will hit conventional theaters since the likes of Bloodshot, The Hunt and others had their releases cut short (though The Wretched has done quite well for itself at drive-ins). Starting in early July, and assuming everything goes according to plan, there are some other new movies that people will be able to check out in a theatrical setting before Tenet arrives, which we’ve laid out below. (And no, we’re not counting the re-release of 2010’s Inception on July 17.)
Unhinged
Previously scheduled to come out at the beginning of September, it was announced in mid-May that Russell Crowe’s next movie, Unhinged, was being moved up to July 1 in order to arrive just as theaters propped their doors open again. It’s since been pushed back to July 10, but as things stand now, it’s still primed to achieve its goal of ending this months-long theatrical drought. Unhinged stars Crowe as an unstable, irate driver who stalks and torments a divorced single mom (played by Unhinged Pistorius) after they get into a confrontation at a red light.
The Broken Hearts Gallery
The Broken Hearts Gallery originally occupied that July 10 where Unhinged now sits, but it’s since been moved down a week to July 17. Starring Bad Education’s Geraldine Viswanathan and Stranger Things’ Dacre Montgomery, the movie follows an art gallery assistant in her 20s who’s saved a souvenir from every relationship she’s been in. After her latest breakup, she establishes the pop-up Broken Heart Gallery, where others can display their items that represent love left behind.
Saint Maud
Technically Saint Maud has already had some time to shine on the big screen, as it premiered at last September’s Toronto International Film Festival and also screened at Fantastic Fest and the BFI London Film Festival. However, the general public will finally get to watch this horror movie on July 17, having previously been dated April 10. Saint Maud’s eponymous character (played by Morfydd Clark) is a newly devout hospice nurse who is obsessed with saving her dying patient’s soul, but sinister forces and her own dark past threaten to undo to “put an end to her holy calling.”
Mulan
Unlike the previous entries, Mulan is a blockbuster on Tenet’s scale, if not bigger. The live-action remake of Disney’s 1998 same-named animated hit was supposed to come out on March 27 and even held its world premiere on March 9, but once the health crisis started getting out of hand, it was moved to July 24. While Mulan will cover the same basic story beats as its predecessor, i.e. follow a young woman who disguises herself as a man and takes her father’s place in the Imperial army, there will be some noticeable differences, including it not being a musical and much of the supporting cast consisting of new characters.
It should be noted that just because these are the only movies being released in theaters before Tenet doesn’t mean that there won’t be other new movies to enjoy before we jump into a world that deals with the inversion of time. There will be plenty of other content to enjoy across VOD and streaming in the meantime, including Netflix’s Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, Hulu’s Palm Springs, Prime Video’s My Spy, Apple TV+’s Greyhound and Disney+’s Hamilton.
As for what’s expected to hit theaters following Tenet later this year, you can find that information in our 2020 release schedule.
