Cinema chain Cineworld announced today that it will close all of its movie theaters in the United States this week after the postponement of the new James Bond film left a big hole in schedules, USA Today reported. The closures, which affect all 536 U.S.-based Regal Cinemas and 127 Cineworld and Picturehouse venues in the U.K., will go into effect on Thursday, according to a Regal news release. Some 45,000 employees are affected. Cineworld did not share any plans for a reopening date, though the company stressed it would "continue to monitor the situation closely." Many U.S. theaters have reopened after being shuttered by the coronavirus in March, but so far audiences have been slow to return as the country has continued to struggle with spikes and hot zones. Christopher Nolan's thriller "Tenet," which had been expected to be a hit before COVID-19 hit, has only made $45 million domestically compared to $262 million overseas. Last week, A-list Hollywood filmmakers including Spielberg, Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Patty Jenkins, Jordan Peele, Barry Jenkins, Sofia Coppola and James Cameron, along with the National Association of Owners, the Motion Picture Association and the Directors Guild of America, urged Congress to bail out struggling cinemas, noting that movie theaters "may not survive the impact of the pandemic."
