Regal Cinema closes all of its doors
October 5, 2020
One of the largest cinema companies is temporarily closing all 663 U.S. and U.K. movie theaters after August’s sluggish reopening.
British company Cineworld Group PLC, owner of Regal Entertainment theaters, announced it will shut down its theaters this Thursday. Though a date to reopen isn’t specified, it hopes to open for the release of the newest James Bond movie “No Time To Die.”
Regal’s stock dropped more than 60%, accounting for a $1.6 million pretax loss within the first half of 2020. Due to Hollywood studios delaying movie releases, there is no appeal for viewers.
“We are like a grocery shop that doesn’t have vegetables, fruit, meat,” Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “We cannot operate for a long time without a product.”
Since the pandemic’s start, the entertainment industry has hunkered down to avoid the coronavirus to spread. Though streaming services such as Netflix and the newest member service Disney+ have soared in popularity, brick-and-mortar theaters close their doors and lose money to establish a health safety plan for a hesitant reopening.
Customer attendance becomes questionable even after movie theaters open. Large budget movie release dates continue to be pushed back or even launch straight onto streaming platforms, casting a broader shadow on the uncertainty of movie theaters’ longevity.
Christopher Nolan’s latest action film “Tenet” made the bold move to release in early September, raking up $300 million at the box office worldwide. However, movie studios deemed it a low turnout, especially when North America tends to be the world’s largest theatrical market.
Cineworld did not provide information on the theater’s employees’ status, noting there is no income to support their workers.