With many highly anticipated films getting delayed to next year, specifically the recent delay of No Time to Die, movie theater chain Cineworld has decided to close all of its locations in the U.S. and U.K.
The British company, which operates over 120 theaters in the U.K. and roughly 540 theaters in North America under the Regal Cinemas banner, saw falling revenue in recent months.
Cineworld is reportedly writing to the British prime minister Boris Johnson and culture secretary Oliver Dowden to say that the industry has become “unviable.” The company’s stock was down nearly 15 percent on September 23. They warned that there was “no certainty” about what impact the pandemic would have on the business.
“The impact of COVID-19 on our business and the wider leisure industry has been substantial, with the closures of all of our cinemas worldwide for an extended period,” said Cineworld CEO Moshe “Mooky” Greidinger in a recent statement.
No Time to Die plans to be released in late April 2021. Other major films that were pushed back to 2021 include Wonder Woman 1894, West Side Story, and Black Widow. Disney and Pixar’s Soul is also expected to push its release date to sometime next year.