Studio dreams of recovery fade as Disney and Warner try for world domination

As Tenet fails to bring hope, the safest bet for studios is to combine theatrical and streaming production in a bet each way which started with television.

While the Australian box office looks like a backwater of the world’s cinema trade at the moment, it is still part of a crucial tangle of ideas playing out in Hollywood affecting the global marketplace on which local producers depend.

Tenet is important because it was supposed to lead off a conga line of blockbusters as the sector recovered in time for Christmas. But it has made AU$45m in North America in just under two weeks, chasing a budget of $250m and a substantial marketing outlay which would be around $125m in normal times. 

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David Tiley was the Editor of Screenhub from 2005 until he became Content Lead for Film in 2021 with a special interest in policy. He is a writer in screen media with a long career in educational programs, documentary, and government funding, with a side order in script editing. He values curiosity, humour and objectivity in support of Australian visions and the art of storytelling.