Cineworld, the parent company of Regal Cinema, Cineworld has decided it will once again close the theater brand after reopening on August 9th, 2020. The company operates over 500 locations in the U.S., as well as over 100 overseas. The closures will start this week, apparently starting on October 8th, 2020.
We can confirm we are considering the temporary closure of our U.K. and US 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.
— Cineworld (@cineworld) October 4, 2020
While many had stated that reopening was not a good idea, you have to wonder if the pressure from major studios such as Warner Bros. was what forced several theaters to reopen. While several big movies were delayed until 2021, others were pushed to digital streaming and VOD, so that the studios could recoup some money while COVID-19 continue to keep movie-goers at home.
The only big movie that has been released so far was WB’s Tenet, which was already delayed several times and finally released to theaters on September 3rd, 2020. Other blockbusters delayed until 2021 include Marvel’s Black Widow and Eternals, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Fast and Furious 9, just to name a few. The decision to close down again likely comes after the delay of the most recent film, James Bond: No Time to Die, which was originally slated to release on November 25, 2020. It was recently delayed until 2021.
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. — Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger
This decision will impact the workforce yet again as this will send former employees back to the unemployment services and trying to get benefits to try and stay afloat. If they even can, as many unemployment services have reported they are nearly out of money, and with no stimulus plan in place for the U.S, the outlook is grim for many of those trying to get unemployment benefits.
To be completely honest, many argued that reopening the theaters was not a smart move. Despite COVID-19 showing no signs of slowing down, it was ignored and the reopenings were an economic decision and not a health concern. And while many theaters reopened, they simply didn’t operate as they did before. Many ran with limited staffing, seeing fewer movie-goers and even fewer blockbusters, as many have already either been released via other means or pushed to 2021. Only Warner Bros. Tenet drew people to the theaters and was mildly successful, but you have to wonder how much more the movie would have generated if the situation was better.
There’s currently no word on when Cineworld will signal the reopening of its theaters. But given the situation, I wouldn’t be surprised if this happens before Spring or Summer 2021.
Source: Variety
