Regal Will Close All Of Its U.S. Theaters Due to Coronavirus
With new guidance from the White House about social distancing — urging people to avoid crowds and gatherings larger than 10 people — essentially making it impossible to stay open, Regal Cinemas will reportedly be closing its theaters completely after initially instituting plans to keep customers safe by limiting the number of people permitted inside each screening.
Regal is the second-largest theater chain in the United States after AMC Theatres; they operate 543 theaters around the country. In a statement to THR, the CEO of Regal’s parent company, Mooky Greidinger, said "At this time, we have made the difficult decision to close our theaters. We value our movie-loving customers and have no doubt we will be serving them again as soon as possible with a full slate of Hollywood blockbusters.”
The news of the closure comes hours after the news that NBCUniversal would test releasing some of its current and upcoming theatrical releases on demand simultaneously this week and in the months ahead. The plan is expected to begin Friday, with current theatrical films like The Invisible Man available to rent for 48 hours for $19.99. By this Friday, that will possibly be the only way to see that or any movie in America, a shocking turn of events from just a few days ago.
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