Cineworld Group, the world’s second-largest cinema operator, said it was considering temporarily closing all its screens in the United States, Britain and Ireland after studios pulled major releases such as the latest James Bond film.
The company, which began reopening in July after COVID-19 lockdown restrictions started to ease, employs 37,482 people across 787 venues in North America and Europe, including the Regal chain in the U.S.
“We can confirm we are considering the temporary closure of our U.K. and U.S. cinemas, but a final decision has not yet been reached. Once a decision has been made we will update all staff and customers as soon as we can,” the company said.
Earlier, a person familiar with the situation had gone further, saying Cineworld would close all its U.S., U.K. and Ireland screens this week.
The release of the new James Bond movie No Time To Die was pushed into next year on Friday, crushing hopes for a 2020 industry rebound as rising rates of the coronavirus prompt new restrictions and keep viewers away.
Britain’s Sunday Times said the London-listed company had written to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Culture Minister Oliver Dowden to warn that the industry was becoming unviable.
It warned investors on Sept. 24 that it might need to raise more money if its sites were forced to shut again, after it swung to a US$1.64-billion first-half loss. Its shares have fallen 82 per cent this year.
Before the pandemic hit, Cineworld had been in talks with Canada’s Cineplex Inc. to buy the Canadian chain for $2.8-billion, but withdrew from the deal in June. The two companies are now engaged in a legal dispute.
Efforts to get audiences back into theatres have proved disappointing. While bigger chains like industry leader AMC Entertainment, Cineworld and others reopened many locations during the summer, crowds have been thin. Small and mid-sized theatre companies have said they may not survive the impact of the pandemic.
Cineworld had said viewers returned to watch Tenet, a Christopher Nolan spy thriller that became a test case for the wider industry when it became the biggest release to open in cinemas in late August since schedules were torn up in March.
But the postponement of Bond, plus delays to other big releases such as superhero movie Black Widow and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story give movie lovers little reason to return.
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