Amidst reports that Cineworld is to shut down its UK sites until next year, the firm admits it’s considering the option but hasn’t decided yet.
UPDATE: It’s now been confirmed after all. Cineworld will be closing all of its UK sites – including Picturehouse venues too – from this Thursday.
It’s been a bit of a bumpy weekend for the film industry. The announcement late on Friday night that the next James Bond movie, No Time To Die, was being delayed (again) into next year has taken the last major blockbuster movie release on the calendar pre-Christmas away. The cinema industry has been rocked by it, with multiplexes in particular – that had been opening up over the last two to three months – now facing a bleak few months.
Then, on the cover of yesterday’s Sunday Times came the news that Cineworld is on the verge of closing its sites in the UK, at a cost of over 5000 jobs. That it’s looking to reopen when the new Bond movie comes around. The firm’s parent company is also looking to close down its Regal chain in the US.
Staff of Cineworld found out the news via the Sunday Times article, which feels sadly predictable in these current times but particularly awful for the many who have worked their backsides off to get the cinemas open.
Now, on its Twitter feed, Cineworld has confirmed that a full closure is under discussion (although as above, it’s now been confirmed), but has clarified it has not made a final decision (although it now clearly has). It is believed that the company has written to the Prime Minister to seek support. This is not a very political website, but, well, good luck with that.
Here’s the Cineworld Tweet…
We’ll keep you posed on this one. Sending nothing but the very best to the staff of Cineworlds around the country.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 Cinemas (@cineworld) October 4, 2020
