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Sad news for cinema fans as Cineworld plans to close all its theatres for an “extended period” following the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The decision to take such drastic action appears to have come as a result of new James Bond film, No Time To Die, being once again forced to delay its release.
The tentpole Hollywood blockbuster’s big screen unveiling was seen as a major boost for cinema chains already hit hard by the pandemic’s restrictions. But its move to 2021 has left Cineworld licking financial wounds it now feels are unsustainable in the current economic climate. Indeed, its stock in late September had fallen by almost 15%.
It’s a devastating blow for Cineworld, particularly after it invested millions in an attempt to rejuvenate the cinema-going experience with screens equipped with 4DX technology and others with 270-degree mega-screens.
Its closure, reports The Sunday Times, will see 128 screens in the UK and Ireland shut as soon as the coming week. The chain’s cinemas in the US will also close.
Cineworld CEO Moshe “Mooky” Greidinger said in a recent statement: “The impact of COVID-19 on our business and the wider leisure industry has been substantial, with the closures of all of our cinemas worldwide for an extended period.”
No Time To Die will now arrive in cinemas in April 2021. It remains to be seen if its delay will cause other cinema chains to take a similar decision as Cineworld.
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