Tenet (film)

Tenet
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Christopher Nolan
Written by	Christopher Nolan
Produced by	Emma Thomas Christopher Nolan
Starring	John David Washington Robert Pattinson Elizabeth Debicki Dimple Kapadia Michael Caine Kenneth Branagh
Cinematography	Hoyte van Hoytema
Edited by	Jennifer Lame
Music by	Ludwig Göransson
Production company	Syncopy
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates	August 26, 2020 (2020-08-26) (United Kingdom) September 3, 2020 (2020-09-03) (United States)
Running time	150 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	$205 million[1]
Box office	$365.9 million[2]

Tenet is a 2020 science fiction action thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced it with his wife Emma Thomas. A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, it stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, and Kenneth Branagh. The film follows a former CIA agent who is recruited into a secret organization, tasked with tracing the origin of objects that are traveling backwards through time and their connection to an attack from the future to the present. Nolan continued his relationship with Warner Bros. and his production company Syncopy for the film's production and distribution.

Nolan took over five years to write the screenplay after deliberating about Tenet's central ideas for more than a decade. Pre-production began in late 2018, casting took place in March 2019, and principal photography lasted six months, from May to November, in Denmark, Estonia, India, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema shot on 65 mm film and IMAX. After delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tenet was released in the United Kingdom on August 26, 2020, and in the United States on September 3, 2020, in IMAX, 35 mm, and 70 mm.

Tenet was the first Hollywood tent-pole to open in theaters during the pandemic and grossed $365 million worldwide on a $200 million budget, making it the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2020 despite struggling to break-even. The film divided critics, but was nominated for two awards at the 93rd Academy Awards, winning Best Visual Effects, and received other accolades. Since its release, the film has rapidly amassed a cult following amongst science fiction purists and Christopher Nolan's fanbase.^[3][4]