Cineworld to shut all 128 of its UK and Ireland cinemas after industry became ‘unviable’
The last picture show: Cineworld to shut all 128 of its cinemas in the UK and Ireland as industry becomes ‘unviable’ following coronavirus cancellations – one day after new James Bond film was postponed until 2021
- Cineworld chiefs could announce plans as early as tomorrow, say Sunday Times
- The paper reports the move to close cinemas could put up to 5,500 jobs at risk
- It comes after latest James Bond and Fast and Furious releases were delayed
Cineworld could shut all of its 128 UK and Ireland cinemas, putting thousands of jobs at risk, according to reports.
The cinema chain could announce the decision, which would put up to 5,500 jobs at risk, as early as tomorrow, reports The Sunday Times.
It comes as bosses of Cineworld Group PLC, the world’s second-largest cinema chain, are reportedly preparing to write to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and culture minister Oliver Dowden to say the industry has become ‘unviable’.
Cineworld chiefs have blamed the decision, which is expected to be a temporary measure until next year, on the postponement of big budget films in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, the reports say.
Yesterday, the release of the new James Bond movie No Time to Die was delayed until April 2021, just weeks before it was about to be released. The highly-anticipated film had already been postponement from its original release date in April due to coronavirus.
On Friday, the release of the highly-anticipated Fast and Furious sequel F9 was also delayed again, while Disney announced last month that its live-action version of Mulan instead debut on its streaming service Disney Plus instead of a theatrical release.
Cineworld could shut all of its 128 UK and Ireland cinemas, putting thousands of jobs at risk, according to reports
The new Fast and Furious meanwhile is set for release on May 28, 2021, it was announced by Universal yesterday.
Cineworld will look to reopen next year in line with the big blockbuster releases, according to the reports, which suggest many of the company’s staff will be offered redundancy, with possible incentives to rejoin when cinemas reopen.
The reports are another knock-back for the UK cinema industry, which took a profit hit when the country was plunged into lockdown in March following the outbreak of coronavirus.
After months of forced closures, Cineworld was due to reopen its theatres on July 10, after lockdown measures were eased by the government, allowing the reopening of cinemas from July 4.
But it delayed the reopening of its cinemas in the UK by more than two weeks until July 31 to coincide with ‘recent adjustments to the schedule of upcoming movie releases’.
Social distancing measures were also introduced, including such as one-way systems, perspex screens for staff, mandatory contactless payment and no more pick and mix.
However, despite reopening, Cineworld raised doubts over its ability to survive a second lockdown as it reported a £1.3bn loss for the first half of the year because of the Covid-19 crisis.
The cinema chain, which is the largest in the UK and second largest in the world behind Chinese firm Wanda Cinemas, posted pre-tax loss for the six months to June compares with profits of £110m a year earlier.
Issues were further compounded by a short supply of big blockbusters throughout the summer.
Christopher Nolan’s spy-thriller Tenent set to be one of the highlights.
However industry experts have reportedly been ‘spooked’ by the film’s lacklustre performance on the big screen, causing other major studios to postpone their major releases.
This includes the latest in the James Bond series ‘No Time To Die’, which had been scheduled to debut in theatres on November 11.
But it will now be delayed ‘in order for it to be seen by a worldwide theatrical audience’, the film’s producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced this week.
The latest film in the James Bond series ‘No Time To Die’, which had been scheduled to debut in theatres on November 11, has now been postponed until April 2021
A statement on Twitter read: ‘MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, today announced the release of NO TIME TO DIE, the 25th film in the James Bond series, will be delayed until 2 April 2021 in order to be seen by a worldwide theatrical audience.
‘We understand the delay will be disappointing to our fans but we now look forward to sharing NO TIME TO DIE next year.’
The 25th film in the franchise finds Bond after he has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica when his old friend Felix Leiter, played by Jeffrey Wright, from the CIA turns up asking for help.
Leaving his seemingly happy live with Madeleine, played by actress Lea Seydoux, Bond returns to the field to face Safin who is armed with a new dangerous technology that could impact the world.
The film, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, was originally scheduled for release in April 2020, but was pushed back to November in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
No Time To Die, which also stars Rami Malek as villain Safin and Ana de Armas as CIA agent Paloma, will deliver a satisfying ending for Daniel Craig’s Bond, according to producer Barbara Broccoli.
Speaking on the first episode of the official James Bond podcast, Ms Broccoli said: ‘It’s a culmination of everything that his portrayal of the character has been through and it ties up all the storylines. It’s a pretty epic film, I have to say.’
The British actor Craig, 52, whose first appearance as Bond was in Casino Royale in 2006, has also previously spoken about leaving the franchise after the next instalment.
However, in March this year a movie source said: ‘I don’t think Daniel is finished with James Bond, despite his previous claims.
‘He was in this same position after Spectre came out, where he said publicly and loudly that he was done and then, as time passed, he just wasn’t.
‘There is something about this part that scratches an itch and he’s not prepared to see it go to another actor yet.’
Meanwhile, Phil Clapp, chief executive of the UK Cinema Association, told the Sunday Times that the James Bond announcement was ‘probably the most serious blow to UK cinema operators of a number of similar announcements over the past few weeks and will undoubtedly cause a significant number of cinemas to close again’.
Yesterday a group on Twitter named the Cineworld Action Group took to the Twitter, where Cineworld was last night trending, to comment on the reports.
The group, which was set up in March and describes itself as an action group formed of and ran by Cineworld employees around the UK, tweeted last night: ‘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.
‘There has been no consultation with staff whatsoever.
In a follow-up tweet, the group, which has around 1,200 followers, said: ‘We have found out vital information about our jobs from the media throughout the pandemic.
‘Workers have been left out of discussions that should’ve included our voices.
‘However, in this case it goes beyond belief. To find out you may no longer have a job from the media is awful.’
MailOnline last night contacted representatives for Cineworld Group PLC for a comment on reports of the closure plans.
Meanwhile, reports of Cineworld closure plans comes amid a bloodbath of jobs on the high street, with 193,731 job losses now announced by major British employers since the start of the lockdown in March.
Earlier this week, TSB has said it will cut around 900 jobs as part of plans to close 164 of its high street bank branches.
The Edinburgh-based bank said it expects most of the redundancies to be voluntary but did not rule out forcing staff out.
The bank, part of Spain’s Sabadell, said the cuts were part of its three-year strategy to reduce costs to stay competitive.
The company has previously said it intended to reduce the size of its branch network but has now accelerated plans amid the pandemic.
The bank are the latest big name to announce job losses since the start of lockdown.
Major high street chains including Boots, WH Smith and Marks and Spencer has already announced job cuts.
Lunch chain Pret a Manger announced 2,800 job cuts earlier this year, while coffee giant Costa announced plans to cut 1,650 jobs.
Meanwhile, Greggs has warned its outlook is uncertain due to increased coronavirus restrictions put on customers after sales slumped by 30 per cent since it reopened in July.
The high street bakery chain said it is in talks with staff over cutting employee hours ‘to minimise the risk of job losses’ when the furlough scheme ends next month.
Food-to-go specialist Greggs said it suffered a ‘challenging month’ in August, as the closure of seated areas meant it was unable to benefit from Eat Out to Help Out.
High temperatures also made August a ‘difficult month’ for trading, but more people ate outside of their homes in September which it believes drove improvements.
In comes in the context of a bloodbath on the high street, with 192,831 job losses announced by major British employers since the start of the lockdown in March.
Since reopening on July 2, the Newcastle-based firm’s like-for-like sales averaged at 71.2 per cent of its levels from 2019 for the 12-week period to September 26.
In the past month, covering the four weeks to September 26, like-for-like sales were at 76.1 per cent of its levels from the same period last year, as trading improved.
The company said it has reviewed its trading operations as it looks to ensure its ’employment costs reflect the estimated level of demand from November onwards’.
