Cineworld to shut all 128 of its UK and Ireland cinemas after industry became ‘unviable’

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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 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’.

Bosses at Cineworld have blamed the decision of movie studios to postpone big budget films in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, the paper reports.  

This week 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 – following the original postponement of its release earlier this year due to coronavirus.

On Friday,  the release of the highly-anticipated Fast and Furious sequel F9 was also delayed again.

It is now set for release on May 28, 2021 during Memorial Day weekend, it was announced by Universal. 

MailOnline has contacted Cineworld Group PLC for a comment.

Meanwhile, Phil Clapp, chief executive of the UK Cinema Association, described the reported closure of Cineworld cinemas as a ‘serious blow’.

He told the Sunday Times: ‘The announcement is 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.’

The UK cinema industry took a profit hit when the country was plunged into lockdown in March following the outbreak of coronavirus.  

Cineworld was due to reopen 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. 

But blockbuster releases were in short supply throughout summer, with 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.

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.

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’.