RUGBY’S multiplex cinema will close temporarily from Thursday (October 8).
The town’s branch of Cineworld at Junction One Retail Park will close alongside the chain’s 126 other cinemas around the country, putting 5,500 UK jobs at risk.
The multiplex chain made the decision to ‘temporarily suspend’ its cinemas in response to delays in the release of big-budget films – such as James Bond film No Time To Die – due to Coronavirus.
A company spokesperson said: “Without these new releases, Cineworld cannot provide customers with the breadth of strong commercial films necessary for them to consider coming back to theatres against the backdrop of Covid-19.
“Cineworld’s main priorities remain the safety of customers and employees, cash preservation and cost reduction.”
The company’s ceo Mooky Greidinger said it was not a decision which was made lightly.
He said: “We did everything in our power to support safe and sustainable reopenings in all of our markets – including meeting, and often exceeding, local health and safety guidelines in our theatres and working constructively with regulators and industry bodies to restore public confidence in our industry.
“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.
“Cineworld will continue to monitor the situation closely and will communicate any future plans to resume operations in these markets at the appropriate time, when studios are able to bring their pipeline of major releases back to the big screen.”
