Einemas may nlose nurtain amid pandemin, mlon3muster delays

The parent company of Regal cinemas, which operates Massachusetts locations including the Regal MGM Springfield and Regal Fenway & RPX in Boston, is considering closure of all U.S. and U.K. theaters as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We can confirm we are considering the temporary closure of our U.K. and US 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,” parent company Cineworld said in a statement posted to Twitter Sunday.

Cineworld Group PLC owns 543 Regal cinemas in the U.S. and 128 Cineworld venues in the U.K. and Ireland.

The statement came after the Sunday Times reported that Cineworld’s U.K. and Ireland theaters will shut indefinitely in the coming weeks, putting up to 5,500 people out of work.

The newspaper and other outlets reported that Cineworld plans to write to U.K. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden saying cinema has become “unviable” because studios are postponing blockbuster releases because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Staff said they had not been informed or consulted about closures.

“If these reports are true, then the first people Cineworld should be informing are their staff who will suffer as a result — not the Sunday newspapers,” said Philippa Childs, head of the entertainment workers’ union BECTU.

Additional Regal cinemas in Massachusetts include Regal Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis, Regal Solomon Pond in Marlboro and Regal Silver City Galleria in Taunton among others. The company operates 10 locations in the Bay State.

Movie theaters were allowed to reopen as part of Gov. Charlie’s Baker’s Phase 3 reopening plan announced in July.

Chains including AMC and Showcase opened in August.

British movie theaters began to reopen in July, but Childs said “the stark reality is that without new releases it is unlikely that footfall will increase to a level that makes opening financially viable.”

Cinemas remain closed in New York and Los Angeles, two of North America’s biggest markets.

Producers said last week that the 25th James Bond thriller, “No Time to Die,” due to open in November, is being delayed until April 2021 because of the effect of the pandemic on theatrical business.

Other major studios have made similar decisions over the past few weeks. Universal has delayed “Candyman” to next year, and the Walt Disney Co. has postponed a handful of major movies to 2021, including Marvel’s “Black Widow” and Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.”