Will ‘Tenet’ save the cinema?

The industry could really do with one of the time-bending machines straight out of Christopher Nolan’s secret agent spectacular, writes James Moore

‘Tenet’, a cinematic experience designed for the big screen, could revitalise an industry pushed to the edge (Warner Bros)

Cinemas were allowed to open their doors for socially distanced moviegoing in England on 4 July. Their customers didn’t exactly charge back. In the week commencing 14 August, UK-wide box office revenues were running at just 8 per cent of the previous year.

It’s true that the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales have taken a more cautious stance towards reopening, and a lot of English movie theatres have yet to take the plunge, particularly smaller independent ones. The British Film Institute’s BFI Southbank cinema will only return next week, for example.

But taking all that into account, the numbers are still very low. People have not flocked back to the cinema as some had hoped. But can the summer’s first big release change that?