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October 7, 2020

Movie theater chain suspends operations

PHOTO | Courtesy Twitter
By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

The parent company of movie theaters in Waterbury and Branford announced it is temporarily suspending operations as of Oct. 8.

Cineworld Group, parent company of Regal, indicated the suspension applies to all of its 536 theaters in the country, which span 42 states.

The chain operates theaters on East Main Street in Branford and in the Brass Mill Center in Waterbury.

The company cited the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on movie releases, and sustained key market closures - such as New York - in the decision.

Mooky Greidinger, CEO of Cineworld, said it was “not a decision we made lightly.”

"We did everything in our power to support a safe and sustainable reopening in the U.S,  from putting in place robust health and safety measures at our theatres to joining our industry in making a collective commitment to the CinemaSafe protocols, to reaching out to state and local officials to educate them on these initiatives,” Greidinger said in an announcement.

“We are especially grateful for and proud of the hard work our employees put in to adapt our theatres to the new protocols and cannot underscore enough how difficult this decision was," Greidinger said.

The announcement comes just as Gov. Ned Lamont’s Phase 3 reopening plan goes into effect this week, reducing restrictions on venues and occupancy rates.

The company’s announcement doesn’t give any estimate for when the theaters might reopen. Its website indicates the suspension is "until further notice."

It noted that film studios have been reluctant to release new films because of uncertainty about the pandemic. Therefore, the company can’t provide its customers, who are primarily in the United States and United Kingdom, with the blockbusters needed to entice them back to theaters.

The latest Bond film, No Time to Die, is among several which were supposed to debut on the big screen this year, but their releases have been delayed due to the pandemic.

“The prolonged closures have had a detrimental impact on the release slate for the rest of the year, and, in turn, our ability to supply our customers with the lineup of blockbusters they've come to expect from us. As such, it is simply impossible to continue operations in our primary markets," Greidinger said.

Regal had just started reopening its U.S. locations in August. At the area Regal cinemas, most of the movies offered to customers recently are older movies, such as Disney’s Hocus Pocus, Despicable Me, and Friday the 13th (40th Anniversary.)

Approximately 40,000 employees around the country will be impacted by the latest decision to suspend operations. 

The company indicated it will be monitoring the situation and hopes to reopen once key markets are open and studios are able to release their major films.

Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.

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