A few days ago, a number of Hollywood directors wrote to the US Congress asking for the rescue of theaters, and today there is bad news: Cineworld, the largest theater line in the United Kingdom, has decided to close 128 cinemas in the UK and Ireland next week, and the 543 Regal cinemas owned by the group in the United States will also be closed, and the cinemas in these three countries will not be open until 2021.
The main reason Cineworld made this decision was that 007: No Time to Die was postponed until April next year, and there were no Hollywood blockbuster releases before December this year. At present, only Pixar's "Psychic Journey" on November 20 and "Crazy Hominid 2" on November 25 have not been withdrawn.
According to foreign media "Variety", Cineworld's decision may lead to 5500 people losing their jobs. Earlier, the group said in a statement that if the British government continues to strengthen social distancing measures, cinema operations will encounter greater difficulties, and it is better to temporarily close self-protection. The second hit of the covid-19 pandemic in Europe, and the fact that cinemas in New York and Los Angeles have not yet reopened, has also made Hollywood studios reluctant to risk releasing blockbusters in the fall and winter.
Cineworld's theater line reopened on July 31 this year after a four-month closure, but the box office performance of "Creed" was not as expected, and "Mulan" was changed to streaming media, and the operation has been very difficult. "007: No Time to Die" was rescheduled from November 12 to April next year, becoming the last straw that crushed the camel.