Regal Cinemas Closing All Locations, Including Trussville

TRUSSVILLE, AL — Regal Cinemas will close its 543 theaters in the United States Thursday due to continued revenue losses from the coronavirus pandemic. The chain has two locations in Alabama, including one in Trussville.

Cineworld confirmed Monday it would suspend operations in the United States and United Kingdom starting Thursday, Oct. 8, and did not indicate a reopening date. Prolonged closures and the reluctance of motion picture companies to release new films in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic drove the move, according to Cineworld.

The closures include the theater at 5895 Trussville Crossings Parkway.

"This is not a decision we made lightly, and 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," Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger said in a statement.

Theaters are among the many businesses hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. They were allowed to reopen Sept. 4 in Maryland after being forced to close March 19 to prevent the spread of the virus. In September, Cineworld reported a $1.6 billion loss for the first six months of the year before taxes.

The company reports 45,000 employees will be impacted by the suspension of operations.

Regal is the second-largest theater chain in the United States after AMC.

Its decision comes on the heels of MGM's Oct. 2 announcement it was delaying the release of its newest James Bond film, "No Time To Die," from November until April 2, 2021.

Coronavirus has also pushed back the release of dozens of movies, including expected blockbusters like "Black Widow," which was originally set for release on May 1 (now tentatively expected in theaters May 7, 2021), "Wonder Woman 1984" (moved from a June 1 release to Christmas Day) and "The Batman" (moved from June 2021 to October 2021).

Running a theater without new releases was "like a grocery shop that doesn't have vegetables, fruit, meat," Greidinger told the Wall Street Journal. "We cannot operate for a long time without a product."