Warner Bros. was so desperate to get Christopher Nolan back to the studio that they offered him a seven-figure check. Starting with 2002’s Insomnia, Christopher Nolan had been one of Warner Bros.’s most prolific filmmakers, delivering multiple hits for the studio, including The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, and Dunkirk. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Christopher Nolan wanted his film Tenet to be the first to open in theaters following the nationwide shutdown. Tenet opened on September 3, 2020, and shortly afterward, Warner Bros. made the decision to release their entire 2021 slate of films day and date in theaters and on their streaming service, then known as HBO Max. Nolan famously criticized the decision and took his next film, the eventual Best Picture-winner Oppenheimer, to Universal Pictures.
According to Variety, Warner Bros. cut Christopher Nolan a seven-figure check to cover the fees he waived to secure Tenet a theatrical release. According to the report, former Warner Bros. chief Ann Sarnoff and the studio’s motion picture chairman, Toby Emmerich, agreed to give Tenet a theatrical rollout if Nolan waived upfront fees he was guaranteed. Now, new Warner Bros. chiefs Michael DeLuca and Pamela Abdy have paid Nolan the money he waived in a show of goodwill and to woo the filmmaker back to the studio in hopes of producing his next movie. The attempt failed, as Nolan and his producing partner (and wife) Emma Thompson decided to reteam with Universal Pictures following their success with Oppenheimer.
Universal Pictures is already giving Christopher Nolan’s next film a similar treatment to Oppenheimer. The movie is set to open on July 17, 2026 – the third weekend in July was massively successful for previous Nolan releases The Dark Knight, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Dunkirk, and Oppenheimer. Matt Damon will star in the untitled film, which has secured an IMAX release. No further details are known about the movie.
Christopher Nolan Has Moved on From Warner Bros.
This isn’t the first time Warner Bros. has gone the extra mile in an attempt to stay in the Christopher Nolan business. Interstellar had been set up at Paramount Pictures for years, and when Christopher Nolan came on board the project, Warner Bros. was desperate to secure a co-financing deal on the film. Warner Bros. made a deal with Paramount Pictures to give the rival studio its rights to co-finance the next film in the Friday the 13th franchise and a stake in a future South Park film. Warner Bros. gave up Jason Voorhees and Eric Cartman to keep Christopher Nolan.
Related
Why Leaving Warner Bros. Was the Best Decision Christopher Nolan Ever Made
Christopher Nolan’s relationship with Warner Bros. ended because of a sharp difference of opinion over the future of the film industry.
Yet Warner Bros. is in a much different place in 2024. Under the leadership of CEO David Zaslav, the company has been at the center of negative headlines. From the cancellation of completed movies like Batgirl and Coyote vs. Acme in favor of tax write-offs to the disastrous box office flop of Joker: Folie à Deux, the studio certainly could use a surefire bet like Nolan – the rare filmmaker whose name alone draws in audiences where even cinematic legends like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese have struggled in recent years. The breakup between Warner Bros. and Christopher Nolan is one for the books, and it is clear which party is struggling and which one is thriving. Nolan didn’t need Warner Bros., but Warner Bros. needs Nolan now more than ever.