As lockdowns ease, Regal Cinemas will reopen after six months

Cineworld, the parent company of the US movie theater chain Regal Cinemas, announced Tuesday that it would reopen its cinemas in the United States in April and in Britain in May as those countries ease lockdown restrictions.اضافة اعلان

“We have long-awaited this moment, “ said Mooky Greidinger, the chief executive of Cineworld, which is based in London.  “With capacity restrictions expanding to 50 percent or more across most US states, we will be able to operate profitably in our biggest markets. “

Regal Cinemas is the second-largest theater chain in the United States, after AMC Theaters. The announcement by Cineworld comes six months after movie chains were forced to shut down across the United States and Britain in October in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The decision affected a total of 45,000 employees in both countries and forced studios to postpone film releases.

Cineworld also announced a multiyear agreement with Warner Bros. starting in 2022 that will allow the theater chain to show the studios ‘ films for 45 days in the United States and 31 days in Britain. The deal shortens the typical window that theaters have to show movies before they are released to on-demand streaming services.

The US reopening plans will coincide with the release of two movies from Warner Bros. Pictures,  “Godzilla vs. Kong “ on April 2 and  “Mortal Kombat “ on April 16.

“We are very happy for the agreement with Warner Bros., “ Greidinger said.  “This agreement shows the studio ‘s commitment to the theatrical business. “

Last week, AMC Theaters announced the reopening of nearly all of its US theaters.

The moves come at a time of concern that looser restrictions will lead to rise in coronavirus cases. On Monday, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that relaxed pandemic restrictions could lead to another spike.

“If we don ‘t take the right actions now, “ said Dr. Rochelle Walensky,  “we will have another avoidable surge. “

In September, Cineworld reported a pretax loss of $1.6 billion for the first half of 2020. In 2019, 90 percent of the company ‘s revenue was generated in the United States and Britain.