Hundreds of US and UK Movie Theatres Postpone Reopening

guest · Oct 5, 2020

Regal Cinemas may close US movie theaters again due to pandemic
October 4, 2020
https://www.engadget.com/cineworld-regal-movie-theaters-may-close-171219797.html

Movie theaters are still struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic despite efforts to keep them open. Cineworld has partly confirmed reports at Variety and Reuters that it’s looking at once again (if temporarily) closing its movie theaters in the US, UK and Ireland, including Regal Cinemas theaters in the US.

According to Variety, any closures would happen due to a lack of top-tier movies that would bring customers to ailing theaters.
With the James Bond movie No Time to Die delayed to April 2021 and few other big titles expected to get theatrical releases in 2020, Cineworld didn’t have much reason to keep screens available.
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The realities of the pandemic might also play a role.
With theaters unlikely to bounce back until there’s a vaccine, digital releases might be the only way to see new movies short of lengthy delays.
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guest · Oct 5, 2020

Regal will close theaters again on October 8th amid movie delays
There wasn't much to see even in areas with theaters open
October 5, 2020
https://www.engadget.com/regal-cinemas-close-again-due-to-pandemic-132925333.html

Cineworld didn’t waste much time deciding on whether or not it should close Regal movie theaters again. The parent company has announced that it will temporarily close all 536 Regal theaters in the US on October 8th due to a “challenging theatrical landscape” and ongoing pandemic-related closures in key markets like New York.

The closures will unfortunately have consequences for workers. Cineworld said the shutdowns would affect about 40,000 jobs in the US.
The pandemic is still running rampant in the US, and viewers don’t appear willing to gamble with their health regardless of which markets are open.
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guest · Oct 6, 2020

Movie theaters 'may not survive' coronavirus, say Clint Eastwood and other filmmakers
"We fear for their future," movie industry groups say in open letter to Congress
October 6, 2020
https://www.cnet.com/news/movie-the...irus-say-clint-eastwood-and-other-filmmakers/

Movie theaters have had a tough year amid the coronavirus pandemic, and the future isn't offering any immediate Hollywood happy endings. An open letter from three major film industry groups, and signed by notables such as Clint Eastwood, Wes Anderson, Jordan Peele, and Sofia Coppola, asks US politicians to help out -- and warns of a disastrous future if no help arrives.

"Cinemas are an essential industry that represent the best that American talent and creativity have to offer," the letter, cited in the LA Times on Wednesday, says in part. "But now we fear for their future."
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The letter was sent before Monday's announcement that Regal Cinemas will temporarily close 536 Regal cinemas in the US and 127 Cineworld and Picturehouse venues in the UK on Thursday, affecting 45,000 employees.
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guest · Oct 14, 2020

AMC warns that it might run out of money by the end of 2020
It's a great time to own a streaming service but a terrible time to own a movie theater
October 14, 2020
https://www.techspot.com/news/87108-amc-could-run-out-money-year-end.html

Editor's take: As the magnitude and duration of the pandemic remain uncertain, I’ve got an ever-increasing suspicion that the traditional movie-watching experience is going to be a permanent casualty of the new normal.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission this week, AMC said it expects to burn through its current cash reserves by the end of 2020 or in early 2021.
As of October 9, 2020, AMC had resumed operations at 494 of its 598 theaters in the US, albeit with limited seating capacities of between 20 percent and 40 percent. The majority of theaters still closed are in California, New York, Maryland, North Carolina and Washington State and are among the company’s most lucrative locations, representing 23 percent of revenue in 2019.

Since reopening, AMC has served north of 2.2 million guests, a decline of 85 percent compared to the same period a year ago (before the pandemic).
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Regal Cinemas earlier this month decided to reclose its theaters in the US and the UK in response to the continuing pandemic.
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guest · Oct 19, 2020

AMC offers private theater rentals starting at $99, as cinemas continue to struggle
October 19, 2020
https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/19/a...arting-at-99-as-cinemas-continue-to-struggle/

Like countless other sectors of the entertainment industry, movie theaters have been devastated by a global pandemic with seemingly no end in sight. Initial closings stretched on for months, as distributors have delayed their biggest films, or simply cut out the middle man by skipping straight to video-on-demand services.

A number of locations have also begun offering private theater rentals — a transitional approach that offers movie fans an opportunity to return to the movie-going experience without being surrounded by strangers.
As CNN notes, mega-chain AMC has begun to offer the option through its site, with prices for renting out a theater starting at a surprisingly reasonable $99 (though not in New York, Alaska and Hawaii). Split among 10 friends, and you’re already paying less than a normal movie ticket.
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Over the summer, AMC noted that it had “substantial doubt” it would be able to withstand the pandemic.
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guest · Oct 24, 2020

AMC Theatres are facing a dramatic cliffhanger
October 24, 2020
https://qz.com/1922319/amc-entertainment-is-facing-bankruptcy/

The world’s movie theaters are—for real this time—facing an existential crisis.
But this is different. The pandemic has taken an industry that was already fending off threats on all sides and nudged it toward oblivion.
AMC admitted in a filing (pdf) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that “substantial doubt exists about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time.”

If AMC goes under, we all lose. That would mean some or all of its more than 1,000 theaters, across 15 countries, could just disappear—leaving fewer spots for movies to be seen, fewer options for consumers, and less leverage for the theater chains that do survive to negotiate with Hollywood studios over the terms of distribution. It’d be a crushing blow to the theater industry and anyone who has ever enjoyed a trip to the movies.
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It’s possible AMC survives these next few months, a vaccine is found and widely distributed in 2021, studios start releasing lots of big movies again, and the theater industry lives to fight another day (though that won’t solve the ongoing problem of streaming).
As of Oct. 16, AMC resumed operations at 519 of its 598 US theaters, with capacity limited to between 20-40%, depending on location.

AMC’s one and only priority right now is liquidity, and it has done virtually everything within its power to keep enough cash on hand just to function.
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guest · Nov 3, 2020

Pandemic Pummeled AMC Entertainment Q3 Revenue Plunges To $119 Million From $1.3 Billion
Net Loss Widens To $905M From $54M
November 2, 2020
https://deadline.com/2020/11/amc-en...-net-loss-widens-to-905m-from-54m-1234607940/

AMC Entertainment said revenue for the September quarter plunged 91% to $119 million. Losses widened to $905 million from $54 million as the financially strapped exhibitor struggles with the impact of the global pandemic.

The financially struggling chain’s COVID trials have been high profile and heavy hitting because of its size — the biggest chain in the world and second biggest in the U.S — and its balance sheet, which showed sizeable debt even before COVID hit leaving it less flexibility and financial runway than other chains when business stopped completely in March. It has reopened choppily.

Adam Aron, CEO, said, “The magnitude of the impact of the global pandemic on the theatrical exhibition industry was again evident in our third quarter results, as theatre operations in the U.S. were suspended for nearly two-thirds of the quarter. [...]
Theaters are open across including New York and California but notably still dark in key markets in New York City and Los Angeles.
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AMC has also been selling assets, including its Baltic theaters. It said last month it would lack the cash necessary to keep going much beyond the end of the year unless things changed.
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guest · Nov 25, 2020

Hundreds More Movie Theatres Close As Attendance Plummets
Moviegoing Teeters After 700 Theaters Reclose Overnight in North America
Amid an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases, 646 theaters closed late last week in the U.S., along with 60 locations in Canada
November 22, 2020
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/n...0-theaters-reclose-overnight-in-north-america

Heading into the weekend, 646 movie theaters in the U.S. closed down again virtually overnight amid an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases, according to Comscore. There were also 60 cinema reclosures in Canada, meaning that in the span of several days, the North American box office lost 706 locations compared to a week ago.

Domestic revenue for the weekend came in at anywhere from $4 million to $5 million — a final tally will be revealed Monday — down as much as 50 percent from the previous frame and the lowest since the box office recovery began in late August with the release of Unhinged and then Tenet.
That recovery was already strained. Cinemas in Los Angeles and New York City have never been allowed to reopen, posing a major hurdle.
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However, the latest round of closures has been the most dramatic to date. Nor is anyone sure how many more are yet to come amid the surge.
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guest · Dec 12, 2020

AMC Theatres Warns It Could Run Out of Cash in Early 2021
December 11, 2020
https://variety.com/2020/film/news/amc-theatres-running-out-of-cash-1234851662/

AMC Theatres, the world’s largest cinema chain, has issued a sobering warning as the coronavirus pandemic stretches into winter: We’re running out of money.

In an SEC filing on Friday, the struggling movie theater company warned its resources may be drained as early as next month. “In the absence of additional liquidity, the Company anticipates that existing cash resources will be depleted during January 2021,” the company wrote.
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Mounting to its challenges, AMC says the delay of major movies and the shift of some to online streaming platforms has presented the film exhibition community with even more obstacles.

“These challenges have been exacerbated by the announcement by Warner Bros. that its entire studio film slate for 2021 will move to simultaneous release, which may result in other studios adopting a similar strategy,” the filing said.
AMC was referring to Warner Bros. recent announcement that its entire 2021 slate — 17 films in total, including potential blockbusters like “Dune,” “The Matrix” and “In the Heights” — will land on the streaming service HBO Max the same day as their theatrical releases.
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AMC estimates that if attendance doesn’t significantly improve in 2021, the company would require more than $750 million to keep its theaters open.
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