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Tenet No Longer #1 Movie At US Box Office, Loses To War with Grandpa
Tenet is no longer the #1 movie at the U.S. box office as The War with Grandpa takes its place. Christopher Nolan's Tenet faced a long and bumpy road to the box office, being delayed multiple times since its initial July release before finally hitting theaters in September. The film ended up grossing a meager $10 million in its three-day opening weekend. Performing exceptionally well internationally, Tenet crossed the $300 million mark at the global box office in early October. However, with only $45 million from the U.S., Tenet's underperformance at the box office influenced many studios to push their major films' release dates back to late 2020 and early 2021.
Some studios have opted to commit to their big-screen release for films like The War with Grandpa. The family comedy film based on the 1984 children's novel of the same name stars Robert De Niro as a grandfather who moves in with his family, forcing his grandson (Oakes Fegley) out of his bedroom, which turns into an all-out war between the two. After spending five weeks at the top of the box office, Tenet is beaten by The War with Grandpa.
Per IndieWire, The War with Grandpa takes #1 at the domestic box office this weekend, topping Tenet. Two years after it was initially planned for release, the comedy film finally hit theaters, bringing in $3.6 million from 2,250 theaters. Though The War with Grandpa is the lowest box office debut in 32 years, the film still took the top spot from Tenet, which grossed $2.1 million domestically in its sixth week.
Even with the recent re-closure of Regal Cinemas and the continued shut down of theaters in major cities like Los Angeles and New York City, The War with Grandpa succeeded in bringing audiences in, partly due to marketing strategies, including testimonial TV spots from families talking about the movie and how to watch it in theaters safely. Another major contribution was its star power, with De Niro returning to the comedy route.
The War with Grandpa unseating Tenet at the top of the box office might have seemed unrealistic at the beginning of the year, but Tenet's numbers have only dropped since its disappointing opening weekend. Though it wasn't facing any blockbuster competition, it seems a family film was what theaters needed to generate audiences.
