Not too long ago, I wrote an article about how Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Tenet, was make or break for me as a Christopher Nolan fan. And unfortunately, weeks later, I still don’t have an answer for that. Because guess what. I still haven’t seen Tenet yet. And the reason why is probably pretty obvious—I still don’t feel safe going to the movie theaters because of Covid-19.
Which is why I think it would be perfect timing for Tenet to finally come home on VOD. You might be saying, well, just because you haven’t seen Tenet yet doesn’t mean that it should come home so soon, and I agree with you. While it would be pretty boss if movie studios catered to my every whim and desire, I actually have 5 key reasons why it would be in the movie’s best interest to come home right now. And since I can’t use time inversion like in the movie (I’m just slinging words here. I have no idea how “time inversion” works since I haven’t seen the movie yet), all I can say is, there’s no time like the present.
It’s Been Dropping Steadily At The Box Office Ever Since It Released In the U.S.
Tenet is actually a massive box office hit internationally, so go Tenet. But when it comes to its performance stateside, it’s been a little underwhelming. In fact, in only its second week, Tenet made a measly $6.7 million at the box office, which is um, just ouch. So, while some people like to deny the pandemic’s existence, there’s no denying that it’s caused enough people to stay home and not go see Tenet in the theaters.
And if there’s any reason why Tenet should come home right now, it’s this. Christopher Nolan wanted to push this movie into the theaters, and it was an interesting experiment, given world events. But the experiment didn’t really work in America, and the movie is suffering because of it. There are likely plenty of people who still want to see Tenet since it’s a high-concept film from a popular director. And I have a feeling that it wouldn’t just be new people who want to watch it, either, which leads me to my second point.
Many People Who Have Seen It Say It's the Kind Of Movie That You Need To Watch Multiple Times
I’ve asked a number of people who have seen Tenet what they thought about it, and I’ve heard two major responses. 1) It’s great and the kind of movie that you have to watch multiple times to fully understand it, and 2) It’s really cool, but it’s needlessly complicated. And while the latter group probably has no desire to watch it again, there are probably plenty of people in the former group who would love to watch Tenet a second (or maybe even a third) time just to fully understand it.
Because while some people aren’t in the mood for movies that make their heads hurt, there’s that other obsessive crowd that will watch a movie a million times if they have to just to catch every little detail. So, it already has a built-in audience who might decide to double dip if it happened to come home early.
Overexposure Of Ads Might Be Creating Tenet Fatigue
Did you know that the blockbuster is back? Because I did. I only heard it about two or three times while trying to watch a single YouTube video. Honestly, the marketing push for Tenet has been a little annoying. I understand that the movie is trying to drum up excitement, but it’s actually had the inverse effect on me and most of the people I talk to. One of my friends even said, “If I see Denzel’s son driving that boat one more time, I’m gonna throw my phone out the window.” In other words, the marketing for this film has been beyond overwhelming.
It would be one thing if people felt safe enough to go to see it in the theaters. But the fact that several Americans still don’t have that comfort level to go to the movies, just makes all the marketing seem a little bit icky. Like, do you really want us to risk our health just to see this movie? If it was just brought home, then this wouldn’t even be an issue. So just bring it home already.
Robert Pattinson Is Hotter Than Ever Right Now
While excessive advertising has made the film slightly less appealing, the movie still has one major trump card going for it. It has Robert Pattinson in it, and the future-Batman star is hotter than ever right now. And in a lot of ways, the mystery of the film is even greater because he’s not even the main character in the movie. John David Washington is.
Like it or not, Pattinson still has his die-hard fans who go all the way back to his Twilight days. But he’s also garnered so many other fans since then as well. For example, I started to take Pattinson seriously as an actor once I saw Good Time. For others, it was The Lighthouse. The fact is, he’s a movie star who has blossomed into one of today’s most versatile and exciting actors, and people would pay good money to see him perform on our TV screens in the comfort of our own homes.
It Could Get A Second Wind And Open The Door For Other Big Budget Blockbusters At Home
I mentioned earlier how I keep hearing that the blockbuster is back with Tenet, but is it really? The term “blockbuster” gets thrown around a lot these days, but the term used to be associated with the idea of a film being so popular that people would literally line up around the block to see it. And from what we’ve witnessed of Tenet’s box office performance, that has just not been the case with this movie. At least not stateside.
And while I know Christopher Nolan has no intention of stealing the movie theater’s thunder, this isn’t really about him anymore. He got what he wanted. The movie came out in theaters. Now, how about us? Let’s make this a blockbuster on the couch. Because while it kind of lost its chance to be the mega hit that it could have been if it just released on VOD in the first place, a VOD release now could still pave the way for other massively-budgeted films in the future to just come home. Because hey, people paid to see Mulan and that movie is going to be free on Disney+ in a few months. Why wouldn't Tenet also be a success?
So, in the end, I think Tenet would be much better off if it was released now on VOD. But what do you think? Does Tenet need to come home sooner rather than later, or should it just finish its run in the theaters? Sound off in the comments section below.
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