Blockbuster filmmaker Christopher Nolan is known for being an intensely private person, who shuns public attention unless he has a new movie to promote. The filmmaker recently made a rare appearance on social media in a news item unrelated to his new film Tenet, when Regal cinemas Tweeted a picture of Nolan with his wife Emma Thomas outside one of their theaters.

Nolan has visited the cinema not once but twice since theaters reopened, and not just to watch Tenet. Instead of spending money on tickets for his own film, Nolan is said to have watched Tri-Star's Broken Hearts Gallery, and Armando Iannucci's Searchlight feature The Personal History of David Copperfield.

Naturally, there is a deeper meaning behind Nolan's desire to be photographed coming out of a cinema hall wearing a mask. The biggest issue facing the film industry all over the world right now is the audience's reluctance to risk infection to watch a movie on the big screen. This same reluctance has led to Tenet struggling to collect $200 million at the box office thus far, and studios pushing the release date of major blockbusters back further and further.

Nolan is not the only Hollywood personality to attempt to get the ball rolling again by showing there is nothing to fear in going to movie theaters if you observe the proper precautions. Tom Cruise also filmed and posted a video of himself watching Tenet in a London theater, while Hugh Jackman commented on Twitter that those who are able to watch Tenet in theaters are the lucky ones.

Prior to the release of the movie, it was long speculated that Nolan and Warner Bros. would cave under the pressure and release Tenet on VOD. But the filmmaker is a big supporter of the theatrical moviegoing experience, and he spoke about why it was so important for him to have his latest movie be a big-screen offering.

"I think of all the films that I've made, [Tenet] is perhaps the one that is most designed for the audience experience, the big screen experience. This is a film whose image and sound really needs to be enjoyed in your theaters on the big screen and we're very very excited for you to see what it is we've done. We've made big films in the past, but this is a film whose global reach and level of action is beyond anything we've ever attempted before."

Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Tenet stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branaugh, Dimple Kapadia, Martin Donovan, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Himesh Patel, Clémence Poésy, Denzil Smith, and Michael Caine.

The film tells the tale of an unnamed CIA operative, who is tasked with stopping the machinations of a Russian oligarch whose actions could lead to the end of the world. Helping the operative is an international association of spies and a new piece of technology known as time inversion. Tenet is now playing in theaters overseas and in select U.S. cities. This news originated at Deadline.