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Regal’s mass closures don’t bode well for movie theaters

By Amanda Mullen

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 05: A view outside Regal Cinemas movie theater in Times Square as the city continues Phase 4 of re-opening following restrictions imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus on August 5, 2020 in New York City. The fourth phase allows outdoor arts and entertainment, sporting events without fans and media production. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 05: A view outside Regal Cinemas movie theater in Times Square as the city continues Phase 4 of re-opening following restrictions imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus on August 5, 2020 in New York City. The fourth phase allows outdoor arts and entertainment, sporting events without fans and media production. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images) /
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In a move that doesn’t bode well for movie theaters, Regal announced it would close all 536 of its U.S. theaters.

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, it hasn’t been a great year for any market, but the film industry has been hit especially hard by the health crisis. Theaters were forced to close for an extended time when the pandemic first emerged, and even now that businesses have begun to open nationwide, things are looking bleak for theater owners and moviegoers alike.

Beginning to reopen theaters this summer was a gamble, albeit a necessary one of chains like Regal and AMC intended to push forward through this crisis. However, many theatergoers have been reluctant to return to indoor spaces, and thus, many film studios have been reluctant to release their highly anticipated blockbusters into the world.

After all, The New Mutants and Tenet, for all the hype surrounding both films, did poorly at the U.S. box office, even for a movie released with a pandemic fully underway. The numbers apparently didn’t look great to Warner Bros. Studios and Disney, who promptly pushed hits like Wonder Woman: 1984 and Black Widow back yet again.

And the more recent delays of No Time to Die and Dune seem to have been the breaking point for Regal, which announced it would close all 536 of its U.S. theaters this Thursday. This will leave approximately 40,000 Regal employees furloughed. On top of that, Cineworld will be closing 127 theaters in the U.K., furloughing staff there as well.

“This is not a decision we made lightly, and we did everything in our power to support a safe and sustainable reopening in the U.S.,” Mooky Greidinger, CEO of Cineworld, said in a statement obtained by NPR.

Unfortunately, it seems the U.S. may not be ready for a safe and sustainable opening for movie theaters just yet. For now, these closures appear to be temporary, but it could be a long time before movie lovers feel comfortable returning to theaters — and that doesn’t bode well for chains like Regal and AMC, or smaller independently owned theaters.

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Are you concerned about what Regal’s closures could mean for the future of the movie theater industry? Sound off in the comments below.

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