Cineworld announces the temporary closure of its theaters in the United Kingdom and the United States.

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Rob Latour / Shutterstock / SIPA

Faced with the crisis, Cineworld is taking drastic action.

The British cinema chain announced on Monday the temporary closure of all of its theaters in the United Kingdom and the United States due to the postponement of new releases, including the latest James Bond, due to the pandemic.

Cineworld specifies that the suspension of activities will begin Thursday and will affect 536 American and 127 British cinemas, affecting a total of 45,000 employees.

The group stresses that the American markets remain closed, in particular in New York, and that due to lack of visibility the studios prefer to postpone the planned releases.

A communication on the "timely" takeover

This is particularly the case of the eagerly awaited new installment of James Bond,

No Time To Die

(

Dying can wait

), whose arrival on the screens has just been postponed to April 2, 2021. Initially scheduled for March 31 in London , the release had already been postponed for the first time to November 12 for the United Kingdom and to November 25 for the United States.

Cineworld “will communicate on any resumption of activities in these markets in due course” and when the studios decide to resume releases, said Mooky Greidinger, chief executive of the company.

A sector that is not "viable"

According to the British press, Cineworld even wrote this weekend to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Culture Minister Oliver Dowden to warn them that the sector was "not viable".

The opposition Labor Party has criticized the government for not giving more support to the film industry.

This closing of theaters is a new blow for Cineworld, whose financial health was already shaky, hit by months of confinement and then a slow resumption of its activity.

The group also recalls that it is considering various means of strengthening these finances, which could involve a capital increase in order to ensure its survival.

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  • Cinema

  • United States

  • Coronavirus

  • UK

  • Closing