Regal Cinemas, in the US at least, is closed down completely, right now. That’s hundreds of locations around the country with their doors locked and no movies playing on its various massive screens. To the layperson, having no customers seems worse than having some customers, right? Well, apparently not, as the company believes that it saves more money with no business than just having slow ticket sales and higher operational costs. Clearly, Cineworld (Regal’s parent company) is doing everything it can to just survive right now. And the company just revealed its plan to (hopefully) keep the chain in business for when movies fully come back…soon?
According to Variety, Cineworld has secured more funding in the form of more debt totaling $450 million and the issue of equity warrants providing even more cash. Unless you care about the nitty-gritty accounting of it all, suffice it to say, the cinema chain has secured enough money to keep it afloat, for now. And according to CEO Mooky Greidinger, this should be enough money to get Cineworld (and thus, Regal) to the light at the end of this very, very dark tunnel.
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“The measures we are announcing today deliver over $750 million of extra liquidity to support our business,” Greidinger said. “Over the long term, the operational improvements we have put in place since the start of the pandemic will further enhance Cineworld’s profitability and resilience. The Group continues to monitor developments in the relevant markets in which we operate and our entire team is focused on managing our cost base.”
But how long can this new influx of money last? That remains unclear. However, the CEO looks forward to opening doors and welcoming customers back in 2021.
He continued, “We look forward to resuming our operations and welcoming movie fans around the world back to the big screen for an exciting and full slate of films in 2021.”
You read that right. If you were hoping Regal would be open in time for “Wonder Woman 1984” on December 25, you’re out of luck. Clearly, Greidinger and Cineworld are looking towards 2021 now and sacrificing the remaining weeks of 2020. The real question is when, though. 2021 does have an enormous slate of films and many that begin pretty early in January and February. However, with COVID continuing to skyrocket in the US, those January/February release dates are beginning to look suspect. And March? Let’s just keep our fingers crossed. And though there is talk of a vaccine, most experts agree that it will be summertime, at the earliest, that it will be widely available in the US.
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All that to say, Cineworld is doing alright, for now. It’s surviving. However, we really have to look at the beginning of 2021 to see how long that might last.