A view of the Regal Loews Cinemas in Times Square in New York.
Noam Galai | Getty Images
As blockades become easier, Regal Cinemas will reopen in the United States after six months of closure.
The network of cinemas owned by Cineworld, is scheduled to reopen around 500 locations on April 2 with limited capacity based on local guidelines. In most cases, the frequency is limited to 25% to 50%.
Regal Cinemas will screen Warner Bros. ‘film “Godzilla vs. Kong” during its weekend premiere. “Mortal Kombat” will be in theaters from April 16.
Warner Bros. made the decision to release all of its 2021 films simultaneously in theaters and on its HBO Max streaming service. This meant that it had to renegotiate deals with each film company to ensure that its films were shown on the big screen.
Cineworld is the latest cinema chain to agree to these terms and to enter into a long-term contract with the studio to ensure that, after 2021, there is a longer period of time between the release of a film in theaters and its availability in the domestic market.
Warner Bros. and Cineworld signed a multi-year agreement that begins in 2022 and stipulates that Warner Bros. ‘the resources will have to be shown in theaters for 45 days before being transferred to streaming or video on demand platforms.
In the UK, the deal is 31 days and can be extended to 45 for films that debut at a box office high enough.
Regal Cinemas is the second largest theater chain in the United States, behind AMC Theaters. The company chose to close its cinemas six months ago.
At the time, Mooky Greidinger, the CEO of Cineworld, told CNBC that closing locations in the United States and the United Kingdom was a way to contain “bleeding”. He said his company lost less money for not operating.
With the loosening of local restrictions in places like California and New York, it seems that Regal is more confident that his cinemas will be able to prosper and become profitable again.
The two states together account for 21.5% of total U.S. box office revenue each year, according to data from Comscore.
New York cinemas were allowed to reopen with limited capacity during the first week of March and Los Angeles cinemas were allowed to reopen two weeks ago.
New York City accounts for nearly 24% of all New York state box office and Los Angeles accounts for about 30% of California’s box office. These cities have above average ticket prices and population density, in addition to being centers of the entertainment industry, which makes them of vital importance for the financial well-being of the sector.
The reopening of these two cities for business gives studios the confidence to launch highly successful films and cinema operators the confidence to reopen locations. Last weekend, about 51% of the American theater was open to the public, according to data from Comscore.