Cineworld (CINE.L), Britain’s biggest cinema chain could close all its screens in the UK and Ireland, as soon as next week, following the news that the latest James Bond movie would be delayed until April next year.
The operator plans to write to prime minister Boris Johnson and the culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, to say that the industry has become “unviable,” according to reports in the Sunday Times.
The move could put up to 5,500 jobs at risk, if the plans go ahead. It will reportedly ask its staff to accept redundancy, with possible incentives to rejoin the company when theatres reopen — likely to be next year.
Like many others in the leisure and hospitality industries, Cineworld was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen many blockbuster movies delayed as filming was postponed.
On Friday, MGM and Britain’s Eon Productions announced that “No Time To Die,” which was first scheduled for release in April 2020, would be pushed back for the second time.
Film industry bosses hoped the James Bond movie, which was due to hit UK cinemas on 12 November would boost cinema-goers and revive the sector.
Other blockbusters such as Marvel’s “Black Widow” and “West Side Story” have also been delayed until 2021.
Cineworld, which has 128 cinemas in the UK, started reopening its theatres in July after lockdown measure were eased. At the time, Cineworld Group Plc said that 561 of its 778 global sites had reopened, with 200 cinemas in the US, six in the UK and 11 in Israel still closed.
Cineworld Action Group, which is run by and represents Cineworld employees, tweeted: "The front page of tomorrow’s Times is announcing that Cineworld is planning to close all of its cinemas across the country as soon as this week putting all of our jobs at immediate risk.”
The group also said that “there has been no consultation with staff whatsoever."
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