Regal Cinemas — the second-biggest movie theater chain in the country — is temporarily suspending operations as the film industry continues to grapple with the pandemic.
On Monday, Cineworld, the U.K. parent company of Regal, announced that it will temporarily shut down all of its 536 Regal movie theater locations in the United States, effective this Thursday, Oct. 8.
The business move was made after a number of high-profile blockbusters had their release dates postponed or switched to a digital rollout amid the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Christopher Nolan's Tenet also underperformed at the box office after debuting at select cinemas that are open.
"This is not a decision we made lightly," said Mooky Greidinger, CEO of Cineworld, in a press release, "and we did everything in our power to support a safe and sustainable reopening in the U.S. — from putting in place robust health and safety measures at our theatres to joining our industry in making a collective commitment to the CinemaSafeprotocols to reaching out to state and local officials to educate them on these initiatives."
"We are especially grateful for and proud of the hard work our employees put in to adapt our theatres to the new protocols and cannot underscore enough how difficult this decision was," Greidinger added.
The closures will affect nearly 40,000 U.S. employees who work for Regal, which is the second-largest movie theater chain behind AMC Theaters.
Greidinger explained that as some of its major markets still haven't reopened moviegoing, including New York, the company struggled to make it work. Last week, upcoming movies like the James Bond entry No Time To Die and Fast and the Furious' ninth installment rescheduled their theatrical releases to 2021.
"Despite our work, positive feedback from our customers and the fact that there has been no evidence to date linking any COVID cases with cinemas, we have not been given a route to reopen in New York, although other indoor activities — like indoor dining, bowling and casinos were already allowed," said Greidinger.
"The prolonged closures have had a detrimental impact on the release slate for the rest of the year, and, in turn, our ability to supply our customers with the lineup of blockbusters they've come to expect from us," Greidinger continued. "As such, it is simply impossible to continue operations in our primary markets."
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