Warner Bros. has again pushed back the release date for Christopher Nolan's `Tenet.` It's the second delay for the highly anticipated tentpole, which has been primed to reignite moviegoing after lengthy cinema closures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The movie, which cost $200 million, was initially slated to arrive in theaters on July 17, but was later postponed until July 31. Now, it will be released on Aug. 12.

`Warner Bros. is committed to bringing 'Tenet' to audiences in theaters, on the big screen, when exhibitors are ready and public health officials say it's time,` a Warner Bros. spokesperson said in a statement. `In this moment what we need to be is flexible, and we are not treating this as a traditional movie release. We are choosing to open the movie mid-week to allow audiences to discover the film in their own time, and we plan to play longer, over an extended play period far beyond the norm, to develop a very different yet successful release strategy.`

The studio has also delayed the rerelease of Nolan's sci-fi blockbuster `Inception,` in honor of its 10th anniversary, to July 31.

In the meantime, Russell Crowe's thriller `Unhinged` and Sony's rom-com `The Broken Hearts Gallery` will test audiences' appetite for new movies on the big screen when they launch on July 10 and July 17, respectively.

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In a blow for the planned revival of the box office next month, Christopher Nolan's #Tenet has been delayed once again. Read more on the shift and what this could mean for Disney's #Mulan, at the link in bio.

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`Tenet` - which stars Robert Pattison and John David Washington - follows an operative tasked with preventing the next world war. Like most of Nolan's movies, the espionage thriller is shrouded in secrecy. Nolan's film credits include `The Dark Knight` trilogy, `Dunkirk` and `Interstellar.`