The new 'Tenet' release date has made US movie theater owners optimistic for the first time in months, though there is concern of heightened online piracy

• Insider spoke to theater owners and executives about their reaction to the new release plan for "Tenet."
• Warner Bros. announced on Monday that Christopher Nolan's anticipated new movie will open in theaters in 70-plus countries on August 26 and then in the US on September 3.
• Owners and executives are optimistic that this new plan will help restart the movie theater business.
• While the theater owners and executives chose to remain anonymous, their identities are known and have been confirmed by Insider.
• Though there is a fear about piracy of the movie because of this plan, several people Insider spoke to said they hope because it's a Nolan movie that most people will want to go to the theater to see it.

The last few months have been challenging for most businesses, but particularly movie theaters, which have been struggling to figure out how to operate during a pandemic.

But with Warner Bros.' news on Monday that "Tenet" will open in over 70 countries beginning August 26 and then in select cities in the US starting September 3, the industry is feeling cautiously optimistic. Insider spoke with theater owners and executives — all of whom spoke to Insider on the condition of anonymity, but their identities are known and have been confirmed — about if they see a light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel.

You would think that US theaters would be frustrated that much of the world — including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, Spain, and the UK — will get Christopher Nolan's new movie before them. Just think of the spoilers and hot takes that will be spread across the internet before American audiences get a chance to see it. But that doesn't seem to be the case.

"This release date seems more real because it's a small rollout; something we have been craving for months," said one executive who runs theaters that will likely get "Tenet" on September 3. "This is the most confident I've felt since February."

"There is an issue of the short term and long term grosses," said one theater owner (that will get "Tenet" right way when it opens in the US) in regards to the movie opening overseas first. "But I think 'Tenet' will have an extremely long run and theaters will support it on screens for months."

Nolan has been pushing for 'Tenet' to help reopen theaters

When the coronavirus crippled the country beginning in March and caused many of the biggest titles of the upcoming summer season to dramatically move release dates, it became evident that Warner Bros. and Nolan's "Tenet" would be the movie that could bring moviegoers back to theaters.

Nolan has had a long history of supporting movie theaters. He's one of the few big-name auteur to never take a streaming deal. Through the months, he has also been the loudest voice in the room when it came to his movie not just being played in theaters but being the one that reopens them, several sources have told Insider.

But "Tenet" helping to reopen theaters became more challenging last month.

The unprecedented plan to open 'Tenet' around the world before the US

Typically a movie like "Tenet" would be opened across the globe in movie theaters on the same date, but the growing coronavirus cases in the US during July made that impossible. After a few date changes, Warner Bros. finally took "Tenet" off its release schedule last week.

"We are not treating 'Tenet' like a traditional global day-and-date release, and our upcoming marketing and distribution plans will reflect that," Warner Bros. chairman Toby Emmerich said in a statement.

It has resulted in the current plan to release "Tenet," which is an unprecedented one: Open in areas of the world where the coronavirus is less of a threat and then gradually open "Tenet" wider and wider in the US as cases go down.

The biggest theater chains in the world — AMC, Regal, and Cinemark — will all be open by the time "Tenet" opens in the US.

But there's still the question of piracy.

Why US theater owners hope Nolan fans will choose the theaters over piracy

A major reason why big movies like Nolan's open at the same time is to limit bootleg versions.

"Piracy could certainly become an issue with people sheltered at home with no external entertainment options," said one theater executive.

However, several theaters owners and executives told Insider it's something the industry has to deal with in this climate and that, hopefully, because "Tenet" is a Nolan experience that most people will want to go to the theater to see it.

"The way he makes his movies, it's an event that needs to be seen in theaters," said one executive. "The power of Christopher Nolan is greater at this point."