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In recent weeks, a tentative timeline for reopening America’s movie theaters began to take shape. It involved pushing to get 75 percent of the country’s 5,548 cinemas selling tickets again this summer, enough to justify the wide release of two potential blockbusters: Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending “Tenet,” scheduled for July 17, and Disney’s mega-budget “Mulan,” set for July 24, the New York Times reported. That one-two punch would be enough to draw moviegoers back into theaters that had been closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, multiplex operators believed, allowing Hollywood to salvage part of the blockbuster season and, perhaps, revive a pastime that has taken on symbolic importance for the American economy. But some Republican governors are urging cinemas to reopen sooner rather than later, despite business and public health realities that make an abrupt relighting of marquees impractical, if not impossible. To help restart Georgia’s economy, Gov. Brian Kemp wants theaters to reopen starting Monday. Tennessee, where Regal Cinemas is based, plans to allow most businesses to reopen at the end of next week. South Carolina and Ohio are also restarting their economies. Texas and Florida are itching to do the same. But movie theaters are worried about opening up too early. They don’t want to be lumped in with meatpacking plants and senior centers as hot spots for the virus. Already struggling financially, theaters fear that a too-soon return could stigmatize them as dangerous places to congregate. And with new movies from Hollywood not set to debut until the middle of July — at the earliest — opening too soon would only make operators spend money before they could truly recoup costs from patrons.

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. is seeking to secure rescue financing while renegotiating terms with lenders to help it get through the coronavirus pandemic, which has forced it to close down its cinemas world-wide, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The company said on Thursday that it is launching a private offering for a new $500 million secured bond. AMC’s more than 1,000 movie theaters have been shut through at least the end of June. In the meantime, AMC is bringing in effectively zero revenue, the company said. In addition to the new debt offering, AMC seeks to negotiate with its existing revolver lenders to waive requirements regarding its current financial standing. Failing to obtain the waivers could result in a debt default, the company said. While the new liquidity jolt and more flexible terms from lenders could help the company get through the near term, AMC faces uncertainty about when it can reopen its theaters.

The XFL is hoping bankruptcy will give the dormant football league enough leeway to find a buyer within the next three months, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Lawyers for the XFL outlined plans to sell the league during its debut hearing yesterday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. A $3.5 million loan offered by XFL founder and World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Chairman Vince McMahon includes milestones that require a judge to approve a potential sale by July 15. The league is selling the XFL brand name, trademarks and related intellectual property including the slogan “For the Love of Football.” The XFL is also seeking to sell merchandise, equipment and rights to its eight teams, which are owned by the league rather than individuals, court papers say. The XFL is looking to hire an investment banker to administer what it hopes will be a “robust sale and marketing process,” the league’s lawyer Matthew Lunn said during the telephone hearing. The football league, which broadcast games on ESPN, Fox Sports and ABC, filed for chapter 11 this week after shutting down what had been a promising inaugural season because of the novel coronavirus.

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Chairman Vince McMahon has put the XFL into bankruptcy and will attempt to sell his professional football league, which was forced to cancel what had been a promising reboot season because of the coronavirus pandemic, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. McMahon has agreed to lend the league up to $3.5 million to fund its chapter 11 case and proposed sale process, according to court papers filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. “The debtor is optimistic that the sale process will generate significant interest from potential purchasers, and the debtor intends to hold an auction for its assets if it receives multiple bids in accordance with court-approved bid procedures,” XFL President and Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Pollack said in a declaration filed with the court. The XFL suspended its season after announcing in March that a player on the Seattle Dragons tested positive for COVID-19.

Walt Disney World in Florida plans to furlough about 43,000 workers after it closed last month because of the coronavirus pandemic, the company and a union coalition representing the workers said, the New York Times reported. In mid-March, Disney theme parks worldwide closed, including Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California. The furloughs, which are set to begin on April 19, were part of an agreement between Disney World and the Service Trades Council Union, a collection of six unions representing the 43,000 workers at the theme park resort in Florida. The workers, who are expected to be called back to their jobs, will be able to keep their health benefits during the furlough period. Also, they will not lose their seniority or have their pay reduced.

Apex Parks Group LLC, an amusement-park company whose operations are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, has filed for bankruptcy, with plans to be acquired by a lender group led by Cerberus Capital Management LP, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Irvine, Calif.-based business, whose biggest investors are Edgewater Funds and an affiliate of Carlyle Group Inc., filed its chapter 11 petition on Wednesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Apex said that it expects that its senior lenders will serve as a stalking-horse bidder in a court-supervised auction for virtually all of its assets. The company has 10 entertainment centers and two water parks operating under such names as Big Kahuna’s, Sahara Sam’s, Boomers and SpeedZone in California, Florida and New Jersey. It said on Wednesday that it has struggled financially for years, partly due to increased competition.

Wall Street analysts are seeing a chapter 11 bankruptcy filing from cinema giant AMC Theatres as increasingly likely, the Hollywood Reporter reported. MKM Partners analyst Eric Handler today downgraded his rating on shares of the exhibitor from "neutral" to "sell," saying that "bankruptcy appears likely." That followed Loop Capital analyst Alan Gould's Wednesday downgrade to a "sell" in a report that concluded: "We think bankruptcy is a distinct possibility, and at a minimum, the company will require a highly-dilutive financing." AMC has been looking for various ways to reduce costs, in late March furloughing all of its 600 corporate employees, including CEO Adam Aron, following the closure of all of its cinemas. It had earlier already cut its dividend by 85 percent.

As companies nationwide look for relief, the Trump Organization has talked with Deutsche Bank and a Florida county about delaying payments on some loans and other obligations, the New York Times reported. With some of its golf courses and hotels closed amid the economic lockdown, the Trump Organization has been exploring whether it can delay payments on some of its loans and other financial obligations. In Florida, the Trump Organization sought guidance last week from Palm Beach County about whether it expected the company to continue making monthly payments on county land that it leases for a 27-hole golf club. The discussions with Deutsche Bank and Palm Beach County are preliminary, and it isn’t clear whether Trump’s company will be able to delay or reduce its payments, according to people briefed on the discussions. The Trump Organization’s requests put lenders and landlords in the awkward position of having to accede or risk alienating Trump. Like the broader hospitality industry, the Trump Organization is poised to take a significant hit from the coronavirus crisis. In recent weeks, the company has temporarily closed its hotel overlooking the Las Vegas Strip, cut staff and services at its hotels in New York and Washington and largely shuttered its golf clubs in Florida and New Jersey. It also closed the Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, which at this time of year would normally be serving as the “winter White House,” as Trump likes to call it.