The head of WarnerMedia's parent company, AT&T, has admitted that the box office performance of Tenet was far from ideal.

"I can’t tell you that we walked away from the Tenet experience saying it was a home run," AT&T CEO John Stankey said during an investor call.

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"I’m happy we did it," Stankey continued. "I think the team was incredibly creative. I think we learned a few things about what we can do. I think if theatres were open nation-wide, if California and New York were open, we’d have some latitude… So maybe as we get to a place where there is a little more consistent footprint we can do some more."

In regards to the future of theatrical exhibition, Stankey noted that the holiday season will be the "next big checkpoint to see if we can move some content back into theatrical distribution." Stankey also mentioned that Warner Bros. "is still committed to [putting] some of the content that we think is most important into the theatrical channel... We’re expecting this to be incredibly choppy moving into next year… We are not optimistic… not expecting a huge recovery in theatrical moving into the early part of next year."

After numerous delays, Tenet was domestically released in theaters on Sept. 3. The first big blockbuster to be released since movie theaters closed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Tenet has, to date, grossed just $50.6 million domestically. It has fared better overseas, where it has amassed $283.4 million.

Armed with only one word—Tenet—and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time. Not time travel. Inversion.

Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Tenet stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh, Dimple Kapadia, Martin Donovan, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Himesh Patel, Clémence Poésy, Denzil Smith and Michael Caine. The film is now playing in theaters overseas and in select U.S. cities.

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Source: Deadline