August 20th marked the reopening of movie theaters in various states across the U.S. Theaters initially played it safe, showing almost exclusively classic films, like Grease and The Empire Strikes Back. Then, on September 3rd, Warner Bros released Tenet, the eleventh film from Christopher Nolan. Nolan has always been a huge advocate for movie theaters, especially with Tenet. In a message to members of CineEurope, Nolan said, “Of all the films that I’ve made, this is perhaps the one that is most designed for the audience experience, the big screen experience.” Christopher Nolan is a household name, probably the only director other than James Cameron who can pull 200 Million dollars for an original intellectual property.
Tenet, however, was not the success Warner was hoping for. Although the film made back its budget (it raked in $334 Million worldwide), Nolan’s films usually take in at least half a billion dollars (The Dark Knight, Inception, and The Dark Knight Rises each made over a billion). This has led to studios choosing to delay releases of various big budget movies, including the new Bond film, No Time To Die, which has been delayed until next April.
Although I’m disappointed that I won’t get to see another Bond film until at least next April, I understand that this delay was inevitable. Right now, most people just aren’t willing to go to theaters. It’s an unnecessary risk for most people, since there are a multitude of viable alternatives. Many people have home theater set-ups that can be just as good as sitting in a theater (and you can actually have popcorn). In addition, almost everyone has a laptop, and although I (and David Lynch) condemn it to the highest degree, you can always watch movies on your phone (but beware the wrath of David Lynch).
Not going to movie theaters is tough, but for now, it’s for the best. Here’s a list of alternative film-related endeavors while you wait for another 3 hours of Daniel Craig blowing stuff up:
- Join A Movie Subscription Service: Streaming is now by far the most common way to watch movies, and at this point, there’s an option for everyone. MUBI is a great option as it has an ever-changing catalog, with one new film being added every day. HBO, Prime Video, and Netflix also have great options. There are also free-with-ad services, like IMDBTV and Vudu.
- Go Through Your DVD Collection: There’s an inherent appeal to renting movies, but there’s something almost more special about watching movies that you have no knowledge of, and discovering a new director, franchise, or actor you love. I’ve made it a project to watch every movie my family owns (roughly 130, by my count) and so far, I’ve ended up enjoying dozens of movies that I never would have even considered putting on before.
- Watch all the other Bond Movies: No Time To Die is the twenty-fifth Bond movie. As of the time of writing, there are 23 weeks left until the new Bond movie. That almost perfectly evens out to one a week.