‘Tenet’ Scores $20.2 Million Labor Day Weekend Opening as Theaters Start to Reopen

Tenet (Credit: Warner Bros.)

Christopher Nolan’s new action film Tenet rang up an estimated $20.2 million over the Labor Day weekend in North America as theaters begin to reopen, industry tracking group Comscore reported Sunday.

The international espionage thriller starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson debuted on Sept. 3, and is the first blockbuster to arrive in theaters since the COVID-19 pandemic put the movie industry on hold in March.

With theaters still closed in some U.S. cities — including New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco — the film is playing in 2,810 locations. Still, it managed to haul in $2.8 million from 272 domestic IMAX screens, Comscore said.

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Tenet got an early release in some foreign markets at the end of August. Its worldwide take to date is $146 million. The film’s global weekend haul from IMAX through Sunday is $11.1 million in 43 markets. That’s the biggest global box office weekend ever in September for IMAX. But with a production budget of about $200 million (not including marketing), it remains to be seen if the Warner Bros. release can turn a profit.

Elsewhere at the box office this weekend, The New Mutants earned $2.87 million in its second weekend in North American theaters for a total of $11.6 million.

LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions’ Words On Bathroom Walls — now in its third weekend — earned $282,370 on 1,168 screens, for a cumulative total to date of $1.5 million.

Searchlight Pictures’ The Personal History of David Copperfield earned $361,000 in its second weekend for a total of $1.02 million.

Solstice’s Unhinged grossed $1.67 million in its third weekend in North American theaters for a total of $11.3 million.

Paramount’s The Spongebob Movie: Sponge On The Run, which is playing in Canada only, earned $345,000 in its fourth weekend for a cumulative total of $3.54 million.


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About Anita Bennett

Anita Bennett is the editor and founder of Urban Hollywood 411. She can be reached on Twitter @tvanita.