Cineworld to close all of its U.K. and U.S. movie theaters

On Monday, Cineworld (CINE.L) stated that it would temporarily close all of its movie screens in the United States and the United Kingdom later this week. The world’s second-largest cinema chain said that almost 45,000 workers would be unemployed as the company strives to survive the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the film industry.

“We can confirm we are considering the temporary closure of our U.K. and U.S. cinemas, but a final decision has not yet been reached. Once a decision has been made, we will update all staff and customers as soon as we can,” Cineworld said.

“Cineworld will continue to monitor the situation closely and will communicate any future plans to resume operations in these markets at the appropriate time when key markets have more concrete guidance on their reopening status,” the firm added.

According to Britain’s Sunday Times, the British cinema company had written to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.K. Secretary for Culture, Media, and Sports Oliver Dowden to warn the administration that the film industry was becoming unviable.

Cineworld warned its investors two weeks ago that the company might need to raise more funds if its sites were forced to close again. Its shares fell by 82% this year and reported a net kquarter loss of $1.64 billion.