NEWS: Cineworld expected to close UK cinemas for foreseeable future

May well be no cinemas to show these films if they aren’t careful, be interesting to see what happens with Topgun, that’s huge and if they cancel that I reckon odeon will end up closing as well.
 
Heart breaking to see this happen, both for the staff of the cinemas who are at the mercy of circumstance, and as a queasy lurch toward the end of the cinema experience as we currently know it.
 
Strictly speaking Cineworld is not a British chain. Originally it was, but was purchased, in 2014, by a cinema chain which operated in Israel and parts of Eastern Europe under the chairmanship of CEO Mooky Greidinger under the name Cinema City International. He merged his company with the original Cineworld and executed what is termed a 'reverse takeover' retaining the original name of the company. As part of the package they also took over the Picturehouse chain which had previously been sold to Cineworld by its founder. This chain may also be due for closure. Greidinger subsequently bought the Regal Entertainment Group in US and invested a lot of money in upgrading their cinemas. In early 2020 he was on the verge of buying the Canadian Cineplex chain for US$2.1 billion when he backed out and there is now a legal battle with millions of dollars at stake going on between the two companies as they argue technicalities. Efforts to introduce Chinese money into the company to save the day have not been entirely successful. The story of this cinema chain warrants a film drama in itself.
 
I've just frozen my unlimited card as to be quite honest cineworld didn't even seem to be trying very hard now i know that theres no new films to show but i was hoping they would put on some old classics which they did at the start but then really slowed down so that the only films they seemed to be showing was tenet new mutants and romcoms
personally i think the studios are hoping the chains go bust so they can swoop in and buy them for pennies on the dollar
i hope they survive as i live on the isle of wight and cineworld is the only decent multiplex cinema we have
fingers crossed
 
i hope they survive as i live on the isle of wight and cineworld is the only decent multiplex cinema we have
fingers crossed

Same here. I plan to support the cinema for a long as possible though, booked in for St Maud tomorrow. My Mrs also wants to see the Rocky films.

Without cineworld it really is game over for Islanders. Certainly can't afford regular visits to Southampton or Pompey.

But to be honest how long will it be before the other chains shut up shop too? Sad times, especially for the staff.
 
I agree was going to see Maud but sadly working late I was going to keep my card going but once bond was put back again and no decent releases in sight me and my friends decided to cancel or put on hold our unlimited cards I just don't see cinemas surviving another lockdown I remember before Cineworld having to go to the mainland to see some releases and cramming in 3 films in one day not something I want to do in the future maybe I just need to get a bigger TV but it's just not the same as the cinema experience
 
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I hope they are able to reopen in the spring and the government finally does something about furloughing theatre and cinema staff beyond this month.
 
I've just frozen my unlimited card as to be quite honest cineworld didn't even seem to be trying very hard now i know that theres no new films to show but i was hoping they would put on some old classics which they did at the start but then really slowed down so that the only films they seemed to be showing was tenet new mutants and romcoms
personally i think the studios are hoping the chains go bust so they can swoop in and buy them for pennies on the dollar
i hope they survive as i live on the isle of wight and cineworld is the only decent multiplex cinema we have
fingers crossed

Up until July, Studios have been banned by US law from owning cinemas. Now the law has been rescinded it's a possibility that they could swoop in.

I'm not saying that was the studios plan all along, but if a major studio can see any sense in blocking out a whole chain with just their own releases that they've been holding back, who know what the future will bring.
 
My thoughts are for and with the staff. I hope the government continues supporting them, unlike the way Studios haven't.
 
Difficult times ahead, this is just the tip of the iceberg till 31st October. Hospitality industry will collapse at the end of Furlough scheme.
Soon it'll be announcements from Vue, Odeon and the West end theatres group (plus the many independent circus/local theatre).
 
Literally every cinema in Birmingham in the last 10yrs that I've been to has had the experience ruined by noisy chavs talking or messing about and the staff or security dont do anything about it.

Either that or the quality is sooo bad you cant see anything in the dark as the contrast is so low it whites out what's going on or it's just unintelligible mumbles like Tenet as the bass is so loud or the speakers are broken and havent been replaced.

The only exception was Frozen 2.

So really I dont care if the Cinemas close forever.

Will just buy it on disc or digitally and watch at home.

I'm only 39 but rereading that makes me sound like a grumpy old man.
 
I think the big movie companies may end up doing what Disney did with Mulan, straight to streaming services at a higher than usual price.
It is a sad time for a lot of people, not just cinemas :(

Eventually the Studio's will need the cash, as their cashflow has come to a halt. They simply cannot finance new films, so we might see some major blockbusters released online between now and Easter 2021.
 
Literally every cinema in Birmingham in the last 10yrs that I've been to has had the experience ruined by noisy chavs talking or messing about and the staff or security dont do anything about it.

Either that or the quality is sooo bad you cant see anything in the dark as the contrast is so low it whites out what's going on or it's just unintelligible mumbles like Tenet as the bass is so loud or the speakers are broken and havent been replaced.

The only exception was Frozen 2.

So really I dont care if the Cinemas close forever.

Will just buy it on disc or digitally and watch at home.

I'm only 39 but rereading that makes me sound like a grumpy old man.

You should care, if only for the fact that no big screens means a major change to the way films are made. And a great many of those films you've liked over the years, you may not see the ilk of again.
 
Eventually the Studio's will need the cash, as their cashflow has come to a halt. They simply cannot finance new films, so we might see some major blockbusters released online between now and Easter 2021.

I've been mulling this over for a while... You may think this idea is stupid or may not.

The studios release their movies by going direct to PPV (pay per view) internet release, then subscription platforms and then disc, but give say, 20% of their profits to cinema chains. That would keep them afloat. But then I thought no, they wouldn't do that because they are American, and all American companies care about is money. Which is a pity, because going to the cinema is an experience unlike anything one can get at home but sadly it's not looking good. :(
 
I've been mulling this over for a while... You may think this idea is stupid or may not.

The studios release their movies by going direct to PPV (pay per view) internet release, then subscription platforms and then disc, but give say, 20% of their profits to cinema chains. That would keep them afloat. But then I thought no, they wouldn't do that because they are American, and all American companies care about is money. Which is a pity, because going to the cinema is an experience unlike anything one can get at home but sadly it's not looking good. :(
It just depends how much people are prepared to pay to stream. Currently a whole family can view for less than the price of a single cinema ticket for a recent film. This does not make for a viable option for studios who spend millions of dollars on major productions. As it is calculations are made before any film goes into production as to how much it will make from cinemas, TV, streaming and disks etc around the world. If these forecasts can't be seen to meet the cost of the movie it doesn't get made.
 
I've been mulling this over for a while... You may think this idea is stupid or may not.

The studios release their movies by going direct to PPV (pay per view) internet release, then subscription platforms and then disc, but give say, 20% of their profits to cinema chains. That would keep them afloat. But then I thought no, they wouldn't do that because they are American, and all American companies care about is money. Which is a pity, because going to the cinema is an experience unlike anything one can get at home but sadly it's not looking good. :(

Universal are doing just that with VOD releases, 10% of sales go to cinema chains.

But the reality is you just don’t make the same sales from VOD as you do from the box office, even if the studios are desperate for cash they will be hard pushed to justify taking a loss with VOD in any movie projected to take a billion + at the bi box office.
 
The studios can’t keep pushing stuff back indefinitely.

Nobody knows if anything will change next year.

It’s not just box office income they’re missing out on, it’s the rental/sell through that would normally occur a couple of months after cinema release.
 
PVOD can be successful if they lowered the price (ex. £10). At this price point, I will be okay to buy, watch and own.
 
Quite agree with you zantarous. I think that we are looking at much higher prices to stream mega-buck movies. The sort of prices we pay for Prime and Netflix etc packages just won't pay the production bills. Many contributors to this Forum are prepared to pay thousands of Pounds for home cinema set-ups and big screen TVs and we will have to be prepared to pay much more for content to view on them. The glory days of cheap, and free, downloads might be coming to an end. Sorry to bring this in, but the price of a TV licence to view UK channels, especially BBC output, is going to look like peanuts in the scale of things. Remember when recorded VHS tapes first hit the market, before streaming, they were around £30-40 a time. I briefly worked in a video hire shop at the time and we took £50 deposit off members when they joined to ensure they didn't walk off with the tapes.

A lot of the income that cinemas make comes from the sale of food, drink and snacks. They often make more out of this than selling the cinema seat.

On a 'closer to home' point the manager of a local cinema in the firing line informed me this morning that his staff had no official notification from Cineworld as to where their 30 jobs were other than the press and tv news!
 
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I fear you are right BrightonChris. Unless cinemas get back to some sort of normality the studio floors will remain quiet. I note that our local Odeon is not taking bookings beyond Thursday. The CEO of Vue was indicating this morning on the radio that they want to continue. I know of one smaller chain that operates nationally which may not make it through this period and might fold altogether leaving some communities without a cinema.
 
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It's all ok everyone, Boris is here to the rescue!


Boris Johnson said he would "encourage people to go out to the cinema, enjoy themselves and support" movie theatres.

So, so helpful.
 

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