Needless to say, we were eagerly awaiting the first box office figures of Christopher Nolan's new film, Tenet.
The Warner studios have just given them away after five days of operation in France.
At the end of the first weekend, 809,601 spectators saw the film.
To read also:
Tenet,
a good 007 of two and a half hours
The film is making the best theatrical start of 2020 as covid forces viewers to wear masks.
The vice-president of Warner France Olivier Snanoudj analyzes these good figures in the light of recent statements by the CEO of Warner Toby Emmerich, who also declared himself happy with the results of the blockbuster at 2005 million dollars in a press release: "
Christopher Nolan has once again produced an event feature film that claims to be seen on the big screen and we are thrilled that audiences around the world have the opportunity to see it in theaters.
"
Read also: For Christopher Nolan,
Tenet
owes a lot to James Bond and
The Spy Who Loved Me
LE FIGARO. - After a first weekend of French operations, what do you think of
Tenet's
first figures
?
Olivier SNANOUDJ. -
This is good news.
Especially in the particular context of the pandemic.
Let's say we were hoping for such results.
In my opinion, Christopher Nolan's film is quite extraordinary, and top-notch.
But we couldn't be sure.
This summer, the offer of films was very qualitative, but there was a lack of very promising films, general public.
When we started to communicate on
Tenet
, we found that people reacted quickly.
Apparently, this is a movie the public has been waiting for ...
Did France serve as a test country for
Tenet's
release
, given that it still hasn't been released in the United States, China, or Latin America?
France was certainly one of the test countries, like a few others.
The reason is obvious: Christopher Nolan's films have always been successful in France.
In this, we can say that the test is successful.
In France, we have an audience of cinephiles.
Tenet
somewhat combines the meeting between the general public, lovers of action cinema, and a more demanding auteur cinema.
I usually say that Christopher Nolan's films are author's blockbusters ...
However, French criticism was divided on the film ...
There was everything, it's true, in the French press.
One thing is certain, the film created the debate.
It sparked heated discussions.
This is what is great about Nolan's films.
And it's good that we are talking about cinema again in such an exalted way.
The cinema is once again at the center of discussions.
Opinions differ.
We take care of the different theories that are proposed in the film.
We like it or we don't.
This is invigorating.
What have these early figures taught you again?
We were amazed that
Tenet's
release
could do better than the previous two Nolan movie starts.
Tenet had
a first weekend superior to that of
Dunkirk,
which had gathered 708,000 spectators.
As for
Interstellar
, it had gathered nearly 650,000 spectators during its first weekend of operation.
These are results that we could just as easily have observed in a “normal” context of cinema outings.
Are these figures likely to reassure French cinema exhibitors?
Without a doubt.
It is extremely gratifying to see the public responding.
But beware, we must not say that summer was deserted in the theaters.
We had an average of a million spectators per week during the summer.
It wasn't enough, but it wasn't desertion either.
Simply, it lacked the great summer locomotives, the blockbusters as well as the great French comedies.
Was Warner right to release
Tenet
despite the presence of the pandemic?
The Warner took the bet to release this film in theaters.
It was a risky bet, but one that seems to be paying off.
It seems certain that
Tenet's
figures
will be observed with a magnifying glass.
And that the big studios will try to gauge what impact the success of Nolan's film can have on the release of other “locomotives”.
But do not make me say what I did not say: the release of such a film is not judged after five days.
The release of a movie like this is like a marathon, not a sprint.
However, we must admit, this is a very good start.
With the release of
Tenet
, audiences returned to theaters in a massive way.
This is reassuring.