Box office: Tenet sales continue to drop in U.S. as Nolan's latest tentpole hits $333 million globally

The domestic box office continues to struggle amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

After being knocked out of first place last weekend, Tenet's ticket sales continued to drop in its seventh week, bringing in just $1.6 million from American venues. To date, Christopher Nolan's latest studio tentpole has made $50.6 in at-home revenue. With most major releases delayed to 2021, Warner Bros. is allowing the film to play for a longer period of time (you've no doubt been inundated with the "big movies are back in theaters" ads on YouTube). Tenet is faring a little better overseas in countries that have gotten a better handle on containing the spread of the virus. International sales were $5 million this weekend, boosting the blockbuster's global haul to $333.9 million (a rather palindromic number that fits in nicely with the movie's themes).

While domestic sales are troubling right now (for example, Liam Neeson's Honest Thief took this weekend's top slot with $3.7 million, "among the lowest ever to land at No. 1," according to Variety), New York could help turn the dire situation around. This past week, the state's governor, Andrew Cuomo, said that he would allow theaters outside of Manhattan to re-open at reduced capacity this coming Friday (Oct. 23). This may help salvage the box-office situation as New York — along with Los Angeles and San Francisco — accounts for the bulk of ticket sales in the United States. That said, "it remains to be seen whether the news will encourage studios to start unveiling major movies," adds Variety.

Elsewhere, Disney is finding box-office success in re-releases of two holiday classics from 1993: Kenny Ortega's Hocus Pocus and the Tim Burton-produced The Nightmare Before Christmas. The former conjured up an extra $765,000 (a major decline from the $1.9 million from two weeks ago), while the latter scared up $1.3 million between Friday and Sunday.

The stop-motion Nightmare, which pairs well with both Halloween or Christmas, is getting a virtual Broadway production on Halloween night. Organized by James Monroe Inglehart (and with the permission of Burton and Disney), the digital event will benefit the Lymphoma Research Foundation and the Actors Fund. Tickets can be purchased for just $4.99 right here.