With James Bond’s ‘No Time To Die’ getting pushed back to April 2021, Cineworld could simply shut down 543 of its venues all over the UK and the USA this coming back. Most of the Regal Cinema venues would stop functioning as a result of this shutdown. The Cineworld authorities, on Sunday, mentioned that they were debating on temporarily shutting down cinemas in both the USA and the UK- but it was a decision they hadn’t yet signed upon.
Cineworld’s Decision to Close its Theatres Might Affect the Unemployment Rate in the Country
According to Variety, the staff was informed of the plans before Cineworld had actually sat down for discussions- when the company decided that the temporary shutting down of cinemas was probably one that would be considered heavily. As of now, no decision has been finalized. The chain might just close its sites in the two countries as early as this week. Regal is the second biggest cinema chain in the USA, and Cineworld is the largest cinema operator in the UK. So, it might actually hit the entertainment industry hard.
Cineworld has written to Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the UK to explain how unviable it was for the exhibition sector to open up. This was because the studios kept delaying tent poles which came up as a result of audiences anxiously moving away from cinemas as a result of the pandemic. Unfortunately, if Cineworld does close, it could increase the unemployment rate in the country.
The Delay of James Bond’s ‘No Time To Die’ Has Led To Massive Changes in the Exhibition World
With no opening dates in mind, Cineworld could remain closed till 2021. Mooky Greidinger’s chain underwent this massive proposal on Sunday- with the UK closures being the first to be reported. The news followed the James Bond debacle- the delay in ‘No Time To Die’. There had been ongoing speculation that the movie could be moved from the 12th of November to the 20th of November – something most people thought would stay true. Hence, the news that it would open next year comes as a shock to the exhibition sector- as they are incurring losses ever since blockbusters started getting delayed this year one after the other.
The staff of Cineworld weren’t really informed about the company’s decision before Saturday. Cineworld Action Group- an employees’ collective that was supported by Bectu, the entertainment union, mentioned that the chain had acted on its own. There were no negotiations held with the workers. The closures first emerged in the news on Saturday night- with no hints dropped before.
Although Cineworld’s move to potentially close theatres could be seen as shocking, there were hints dropped in the press before. In its half yearly results, the company stated that the pandemic had completely eroded any certainty that existed after the COVID-19 pandemic. In the event that the government started strengthening restrictions on social gathering, the company could start liquidating their assets as they would be incurring financial problems.
The delay of the James Bond movie has resulted in several changes being brought to the exhibition sector, with Cineworld being the first movie chain to shut its cinemas down.
