Cineworld closing all U.S. theaters because it really needs the blockbusters

Cineworld made the decision to close its United States and United Kingdom locations because there are not enough blockbuster movies being released to attract attendees during the pandemic. The parent of Regal Cinemas will temporarily shutter its more than 500 United States theaters, as well as its 127 Cineworld and Picturehouse locations in the United Kingdom. Cineworld did not say when the locations will reopen, but right now, it is better to wait.

Might be a month, might be two months, until the covid situation will be clearer. Maybe there will already be a vaccination. It might take another month, but at the end of the day, Cineworld must have a clear lineup of movies before it reopens.

Cineworld’s decision comes days after the release of the newest James Bond movie was again pushed back, this time to April 2021. It had initially been scheduled to debut in April 2020 before the covid pandemic upended the entertainment industry, leading to theater closures, production shutdowns, and a host of release delays. Shares of Cineworld, which trade on the London Stock Exchange, were down more than 30%.

The James Bond film delay was not the only reason Cineworld decided to roll back its reopening in the United States and United Kingdom.

One factor weighing on the entire movie industry is the operating restrictions in New York state and California. In California, whether theaters can be open for indoor showings depends on the severity of covid transmission on a county-by-county basis. Indoor movies are not allowed in Los Angeles County, home to Hollywood.

In New York, the state would continue to keep theaters and concert venues closed, citing concerns of an uptick in covid cases. New York and California are the two biggest movie markets in the United States. The challenge facing movie theater operators in the United States is a “classic” chicken-or-egg scenario.

There has been strong attendance in some European markets where big movies were released, such as in Poland and Hungary. There was initially strong demand when United States theaters reopened. People really missed the cinemas and wanted to go back into the big screen.

The difficulty of attracting people to the theater is having no a blockbuster film on the marquee.

The oldies are nice, but people need to have back the big movies and the new movies. Cineworld could shutter 543 of its Regal Cinema venues in the United States and all cinemas across the United Kingdom and Ireland this coming week, just a day after James Bond film “No Time to Die” was pushed to April 2021. Cineworld confirmed that it is considering the temporary closure of its United Kingdom and United States cinemas, but that a final decision has not yet been reached.

Staff were informed of Cineworld’s plans with HR explaining that the closure of all cinemas is one option that is strongly being considered, though a decision has not yet been made. Cineworld may close all sites in both countries. Regal is the second largest domestic chain in the United States, while Cineworld is the United Kingdom’s biggest cinema operator.

In the United Kingdom, Cineworld is understood to be writing to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden to explain that the exhibition sector is unviable due to studios delaying tentpoles as a result of anxious audiences steering clear of cinemas amid the global pandemic. The Cineworld closures will put 5,500 jobs at risk in the United Kingdom. A reopening date has not yet been set, but cinemas could stay closed until 2021.

“No Time to Die” moved its November 12th 2020 slot in the United Kingdom.

“No Time to Die”’s new date of April 2nd 2021 has come as a distressing shock to the exhibition sector, which is starved of vital blockbusters to bring audiences back to movie theaters. Cineworld’s shock move comes after the company said in its half-year results that there was no certainty around its covid outlook. If governments were to strengthen restrictions on social gathering, which may therefore oblige Cineworld to close its estate again or further push back movie releases, it would have a negative impact on the company’s financial performance and likely require the need to raise additional liquidity.

In the United Kingdom, Cineworld opened its doors after a four-month shutdown. Cineworld had planned to open July 10th 2020, but pushed its dates back after “Tenet” was delayed the first time around. In the United States, Regal Cinemas began opening venues in late August 2020, ahead of the release of the Christopher Nolan thriller.

“No Time to Die”, starring Daniel Craig in his final stint as the agent formerly known as 007, will hit theaters on April 2nd 2021, a year later than initially planned. Numerous movies were shuffled around in the wake of “Tenet”’s lackluster United States box office performance in September 2020. Because the Bond franchise relies heavily on international ticket sales, the decision to move “No Time to Die” into 2021 is not entirely surprising.

Covid cases in Europe have started to rise again and New York and Los Angeles, the two biggest United States markets, remain closed.

The delay is major blow to theaters, and there is a chance more could be forced to close given the lack of new content on the horizon. Pixar’s “Soul” is the next big movie slated for theatrical release. However, there are rumblings that Disney will move the animated adventure and possibly even put it on Disney Plus, the studio’s subscription streaming service.

Two Warner Bros. titles, “Wonder Woman 1984” and “Dune”, are still set for December 2020, though there is a chance those could be postponed again as well.