Cineworld Group announced plans to temporarily closes its Regal movie theaters in the United States and its Cineworld and Picturehouse venues in the United Kingdom. The theater chain's decision comes just days after the delay of Daniel Craig's James Bond film, No Time to Die, left exhibitors without many new blockbusters to attract moviegoers in the fall season.
Cineworld's decision will result in the closure of more than 536 theaters in the US and 127 theaters in the UK starting Thursday. As the world's second-largest theater chain, the shutdown will cost 45,000 employees their jobs, including approximately 5,500 staff in the UK and 20,000 in the U.S. Staff were reportedly informed of the situation on Sunday.
Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger said that the timetable for reopening will be based on what studios have planned for their respective slate of projects. "The minute we will have a clear picture of the lineup of the studios, we will be ready to open — whether it’s in a month’s time or two months’ time or longer, I cannot guess," Greidinger explained. "I hope it will be sooner rather than later, but we need to have a solid lineup of releases and this will again have to do mainly with the main territories led by New York ." While Greidinger noted that Cineworld intends to be open should Warner Bros.' Wonder Woman 1984 retain its Christmas day release date, he added that the company will need a clearer and more stable idea of what studios have planned afterward, saying, "It cannot be one movie only. It needs to be a situation that the studios are saying, 'It is safe enough to go back and this is our release schedule.' The COVID situation needs to stabilize and we need to have a clear schedule of movies ahead."
Cineworld's U.K. theaters had only opened on July 31 after a four-month shutdown while U.S. locations started reopening in late August, just in time for the gradual release of Christopher Nolan's Tenet. Per Variety sources, a reopening date has not been set, but Cineworld's venues could be closed until 2021. Cineworld Action Group, a collection of employees supported by entertainment union Bectu, announced staff had not been consulted about the theater chain's decision to close its venues.
Wonder Woman 1984 and No Time to Die are hardly the only Hollywood blockbusters to be delayed due to the pandemic. Disney recently pushed back the release of Black Widow for the second time this year, forcing Marvel Studios to once again shift its slate of Phase 4 feature films.
The production side of the industry is also facing setbacks even as projects begin filming again amid the COVID crisis. Multiple projects being filmed in Vancouver had to suspend filming temporarily due to testing delays.
No Time to Die is currently scheduled to be released in theaters on April 2, 2021.
Source: Variety, The Guardian, Deadline