Watch another day: Cinema giant to close 128 screens after new Bond delay
THOUSANDS of jobs – including some in Dublin – could be lost after Britain’s biggest cinema chain revealed it is shutting all 128 of its screens in the UK and Ireland due to the pandemic.
Cineworld last night confirmed it is in talks to close temporarily following the delay of the latest James Bond film No Time To Die.
It was due to be released in November but has been moved yet again to spring.
Cineworld Dublin on Parnell Street is the largest cinema in Ireland, with four floors and 17 screens, making it a hugely popular venue with film fans.
But the chain’s bosses are said to be writing to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to say the sector has become ‘unviable’ since lockdown.
The closure of its 128 sites across Britain and Ireland will put up to 5,500 jobs at risk, and staff have voiced anger
Largest cinema in Ireland
at how they have been treated by the company since screens were forced to close earlier this year. A Cineworld staff member, who did not want to be named, said they felt ‘betrayed’.
They said: ‘None of us have been told a single thing yet, so me and my colleagues are in panic mode right now, wondering what’s going to happen to our jobs, especially t hi s c l ose to Christmas.’
Philippa Childs, head of Bectu, which represents cinema workers in the UK, said: ‘If these reports are true, then the first people Cineworld should be informing are their staff.
‘The stark reality is that without new releases it is unlikely that footfall will increase to a level that makes opening financially viable. The delay in the release of the Bond film along with the other delayed releases has plunged cinema into crisis.
‘Studios will have to think carefully when considering release dates about the impact that will have for the long-term future of the big screen.’
Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007 was originally scheduled for release in April 2020, but was first pushed back to November as a result of the pandemic. On Friday night it was announced that No Time To Die will now not hit big screens until next April.