Mar 17, 2020

Coronavirus: Major movie chains shut down in US, Canada and UK (updated)

The news feels at once impossible and inevitable. Less than two months after the coronavirus (Covid-19) forced China's movie theaters to close, those in the West are following suit. For the first time in its history, North American exhibition is more or less shutting down.

Most of the largest theater chains in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. have announced the temporary closure of their branches. They are listed below. Many smaller arthouse chains and independent cinemas have done the same. The decisions were made in accordance with guidance from governments and health authorities, which are generally warning against significant social gatherings.

Chains with on-demand streaming services are encouraging audiences to use them. Sure enough, distributors are looking to home distribution to pick up the slack: in an unprecedented move, Universal Pictures is shifting some of its upcoming theatrical releases to streaming, starting with the animated film Trolls World Tour.

At the time of writing, the third biggest theater chain in the U.S., Cinemark, had not announced the general closure of venues. (UPDATE: On Tuesday afternoon, Cinemark became the last of the major American theater chains to announce a shutdown of its theaters. More details below.)

AMC Theatres, the largest cinema chain in the U.S., has closed all 630 of its locations in the U.S. for at least 6–12 weeks. Adam Aron, AMC's CEO and president, said:

Regal Cinemas, the second-largest cinema chain in the U.S., has closed all 543 of its locations in the country until further notice. Its theaters are branded as Regal Cinemas, Edwards Theatres, and United Artists Theatres. Mooky Greidinger, CEO of Regal's parent company Cineworld, told Deadline:

Marcus Theatres, the fourth-largest chain in the U.S., announced this afternoon that it would shut down all of its U.S. locations, which are primarily located in the Midwest. Marcus Corp. vice president of human resources John Murray said the following about the shutdown, which will be completed in the next 24 hours:

Harkins Theatres, the fifth-largest cinema chain in the U.S., has closed all of its locations in the country until March 31.

Cineplex, Canada's largest cinema chain, has closed all 165 of its locations in the country until April 2. Ellis Jacob, Cineplex's president and CEO, said:

Landmark Cinemas, Canada's second largest cinema chain, has closed all of its locations until further notice. The company said:

Cinemark, the third-largest cinema chain in the U.S., announced on Tuesday afternoon that it would close all 345 of its locations starting tomorrow. “The decision to close our U.S. theaters was incredibly tough, but we know it is the right thing to do as global coronavirus concerns continue to escalate,” said Mark Zoradi, Cinemark CEO. “We will closely monitor recommendations of national and local governmental health organizations and look forward to inviting everyone to once again enjoy experiencing the movies with Cinemark.”

In the U.K., the three largest cinema chains - Cineworld, Odeon, and Vue - have closed all their locations, which total more than 300. Trade body Cinema UK issued the following statement:

(Image at top: AMC Theatres)