Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Axed Bond film sees curtain fall on cinema chain
BRITAIN’S biggest cinema chain is set to axe thousands of jobs by closing all its UK sites.
Shelving next month’s planned release of the latest James Bond film No Time To Die proved the final straw.
It is due to confirm the temporary closure all of its 127 UK cinemas, threatening widescale redundancies among its 5,500 workforce.
Workers were left fuming the company had not told them first.
One said: “None of us have been told a single thing yet, so me and my work colleagues are sort of in panic mode right now, wondering what’s going to happen to our jobs, especially this close to Christmas.”
Sources say its UK cinemas will be mothballed, potentially into next year, until demand picks up.
Most staff will be laid off, and offered the chance of their job back when it reopens.
The expected cull adds to a mounting jobs bloodbath caused by the crippling impact of the pandemic - and comes with just over two months to Christmas.
Cineworld-owned theatres in the US will also shut. The plight of Cineworld is mirrored by many rivals, including independent movie houses.
On Friday, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden announced 42 independent cinemas which would get funding from a £30million recovery fund.
But Phil Clapp, head of the UK Cinema Association, told the Mirror: “Without further help, we will see a significant number of cinemas close for good.”
On Friday, MGM and Eon Productions said No Time To Die, which was due to hit UK screens on November 12, would be pushed back to April next year.
A statement on the film’s official Twitter account said: “We understand the delay will be disappointing to our fans but we now look forward to sharing No Time To Die next year.”
Union Bectu urged filmmakers to think “carefully” about the impact delayed releases could have on the industry.
Cineworld wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Mr Dowden warning the industry had become “unviable” because of the decision by film studios to stall big-budget releases.
UK cinema admissions have plummeted over 90% year-on-year since the start of April.