Cineworld expected to close UK cinemas for foreseeable future

Bond delay pulls trigger on cinema shut down

by Andy Bassett
Movies & TV Shows News

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Cineworld expected to close UK cinemas for foreseeable future

British cinema chain Cineworld will close all of its UK and Ireland based screens from next week putting thousands of jobs at risk.

The world’s second largest cinema chain will make the announcement just days after the latest delay to James Bond entry number 25, No Time To Die, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

Cineworld which owns the smaller Picturehouse chain as well as global brands Regal, Cinema City and Yes Planet, is preparing to close all of its 127 UK venues as well as up to 536 Regal cinemas based in the US as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of loosening its grip on society.

Putting up to 5,500 British jobs in jeopardy, it’s understood that bosses at the firm are writing to  Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden to say the industry is now "unviable". As a consequence, the closure seeks to mothball the cinemas for the foreseeable future, saving on fixed operating costs such as electricity, gas, air conditioning, staff and social distancing measures until content is available and customer confidence in visiting cinemas is restored, according to an industry analyst interviewed by the BBC. It's understood staff will be asked to accept redundancy in the hope of rejoining the company when theatres open again.

The move comes after the summer saw the reopening of many UK cinemas as lockdown restrictions were eased in response to fewer Covid-19 infections and in an attempt to move the economy forwards. However, despite theatre chains going out of their way to implement a raft of safety measures, the lack of movie content and an anxious film going public has now been potentially fatally compounded by a second wave of coronavirus cases and an endless cycle of postponements of the 2020 blockbusters that were being relied upon to pump prime the audiences into returning.

Cineworld expected to close UK cinemas for foreseeable future

Despite some signs that cinemas were making a tentative return over the summer, with a trickle of smaller releases bolstered by a brave, line-in-the-sand debut for Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, Cineworld recently reported a £1.3 billion loss for the first half of the year. 

The postponement of NoTime To Die seems to have triggered this closure plan in an effort to stave off Cineworld’s complete collapse.

As well as Daniel Craig’s final outing as the world’s most famous secret agent being moved to 02nd April 2021, other high profile blockbusters have been moved firmly into next year including Marvel’s Black Widow on 7th May and a rescheduled Fast & Furious 9 which was moved away from Bond’s new slot.

It’s another sad news story on the current state of the movie world. Please let us know your thoughts in the discussion thread.

Source: BBC, Independent, Sunday Times
Image Source: Getty

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