Notably, Warner Bros. told Variety it doesn’t have a plan to release Tenet in China yet. Behind North America, the country is the second-largest movie market globally. When theaters in China first started reopening, the country’s Film Administration (CFA) said they couldn’t show movies longer than two hours. However, according to Variety, some cinemas recently started playing older films like Inception that are longer than two hours, so that policy may no longer apply.     

If Warner Bros. goes through with the release of Tenet, it will be the first major movie to hit theaters since the coronavirus pandemic shut down most cinemas in March. With the pandemic still a major issue in the US, a lot could change between now and September, making even a limited release untenable. Whatever happens, don’t expect you’ll be able to watch the movie online anytime soon. Unless something drastically changes, Nolan’s latest won’t skip theaters for a video on demand or streaming premiere.