Covid: Cineworld, the cinema chain with sites all over the UK and US, has confirmed that it will close temporarily following news of film release delays.
Covid, Cineworld, the cinema chain with sites all over the UK and US, has confirmed that it will close temporarily after delays to the release dates of major films. The decision comes after the announcement that the forthcoming James Bond release ‘No Time To Die’ would be pushed back again.
Covid, Cineworld closes cinemas temporarily
127 Cineworld sites in the UK and 536 Regal theatres in the US will shut as the pandemic continues to destabilise the entertainment industry. This decision means that around 45,000 employees will find themselves unemployed.
Mooky Greidinger, the chief executive of Cineworld, said: “This is not a decision we made lightly, and we did everything in our power to support safe and sustainable reopenings in all of our markets, including meeting, and often exceeding, local health and safety guidelines in our theatres and working constructively with regulators and industry bodies to restore public confidence in our industry. We are especially grateful for and proud of the hard work our employees put in to adapt our theatres to the new protocols and cannot underscore enough how difficult this decision was. Cineworld will continue to monitor the situation closely and will communicate any future plans to resume operations in these markets at the appropriate time, when key markets have more concrete guidance on their reopening status and, in turn, studios are able to bring their pipeline of major releases back to the big screen.”
Union Bectu told filmmakers to think about the effect of delaying their releases will have on the cinema industry as a whole. Ben Roberts, the chief executive of the British Film Institute, reiterated this message but also urged people to consider watching independent films at the cinema instead.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport released the following statement: “The Government is supporting cinemas through the VAT cut on tickets and concessions, business rates holiday and bounce-back loans. Independent cinemas are also eligible for a share of £30 million from our unprecedented £1.5 billion culture recovery fund, and funding has started to be allocated already. Cinemas up and down the country are open for business and Covid secure. We urge the British public to support their local cinema and save jobs by visiting and enjoying a film in accordance with the guidance.”
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