Cineworld has revealed the first six UK sites it will close as it enters the first phase of its restructuring plan.
Cinemas in Glasgow Parkhead, Bedford, Hinckley, Loughborough, Yate, and Swindon Circus will be closing down in the coming months.
The company has said it now beginning a consultation process with employees at those sites and it will offer as many redeployment opportunities to nearby locations as possible.
But the company has warned the total number of impacted sites cannot be confirmed until the restructuring process is complete.
Sources told Sky News yesterday that Cineworld, which currently runs around 100 sites across the country, is expected to close 25.
Cineworld’s restructuring plan will now go before the court, and if approved, the process is set to go into effect in September.
The chain said it decided to axe the six locations as they were ‘commercially unviable’, in an attempt to return the business to profitability.
Its plans will also try to reduce rental costs with landlords in the UK.
Cineworld claims market rents for cinemas have reduced over the last few years, meaning some of its rents now cost more than the market rate.
Landlords on marginal and loss making cinemas are being asked to reset the rent to the market level, according to the company.
It is not known how many of Cineworld’s sites have asked their landlords to reduce the rent, but SkyNews previously reported the number as 50.
A Cineworld spokesperson said: ‘We are implementing a Restructuring Plan that will provide our company with a strong platform to return our business to profitability, attract further investment from the Group, and ensure a sustainable long-term future for Cineworld in the UK.’
While the restructuring plan is ongoing, Cineworld’s sites will continue to operate as normal. The plan will not affect the Cineworld business outside of the UK.
The company is being advised by AlixPartners.
But despite Cineworld confirming the six sites to close, other cinema operators could step in to save the day and take them over.
Tim Richards, chief executive of cinema chain Vue, said previously he would ‘absolutely’ look to take over sites from rival operators.
He said: ‘They would need to be qualitatively complimentary with our circuit but I think we’ve already demonstrated over the last 20 years that M&A and purchasing cinemas is part of our DNA.’
The recent announcement comes as many customers blamed the cinema chain’s decline on its prices, claiming a family trip to the cinema has become too expensive.
After the news of the closures broke on social media yesterday, a number of cinema-goers took to X, formerly Twitter, to express their views.
Two family tickets to a 4DX showing, which includes two children and two adults: £58.66
Two large popcorns: £11.30
Two large hot dogs: £11.50
Confectionary (pick and mix) for the kids: £6.90
Four large soft drinks: £16.80
Grand total: £105.16
Source: Cineworld and TheatreFoodandFun.com
One commenter said: ‘With cinemas being so over priced and given that films now take less time before they end up on streams I’m not surprised.
‘Does anyone remember orange Wednesdays and Saturday morning pictures for £1.. ah the good old days.’
Earlier this month, Cineworld customers said the chain has priced them out of trips to the movies.
calculated a family of four going to see a film in 4DX along with snacks and drinks could now cost as much as an eye-watering £105.
That’s for a family of four to see a 4DX screening of Inside Out 2 at Wandsworth in London, buying two large popcorns, two large hot dogs, confectionary for the two children and four large soft drinks.
And that’s without splashing out on special 3D glasses – which cost £5 a pair.
However, prices may vary depending on where the Cineworld is located.
Cineworld disputed ‘s figures and claimed a Family Special deal would be cheaper, although this would take customer research and would not available for everyone.
A spokeswoman said: ‘With the Cineworld Family Ticket, for example, adults pay kids’ prices, so it costs just £31.96 (£7.99 per person) for a family of four to see a regular 2D screening of Inside Out 2 at Cineworld Wandsworth.
‘By upgrading to 4DX with a family ticket, adults still pay kids’ prices, and families get the added enjoyment of stimulating effects like water, wind, lightning, bubbles and moving seats.
‘Family tickets also come with a discount on food with a Family Special for £19, which includes a regular popcorn, two regular soft drinks, plus two Munchboxes.’
Earlier this month sources told Sky News that the insolvency mechanism employed by Cineworld was expected to be a restructuring plan which would allow it to rework its balance sheet and restructure debts.
Cineworld grew under the leadership of the Greidinger family into a global giant of the film industry, acquiring chains including Regal in the US in 2018 and the British company of the same name four years prior.
However its multibillion-dollar debt mountain led it into crisis, and forced the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. in 2022.
Filing for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy means a company intends to reorganise its debts and assets to have a fresh start, while remaining in business.
Cineworld shares were worth just 0.6p in June last year after it was hit hard by the pandemic. They were changing hands at 300p just five years ago.
It caused it to delist from the London Stock Exchange in August 2023 after Cineworld’s UK arm collapsed into administration as its share price continued to fall and fears were raised for its survival.
A deal was struck last year which exchanged several billions of dollars of debt for shares, with a significant sum of fresh cash injected into the company by a group of hedge funds and investors.
But Cineworld is not alone in facing headwinds, with brands such as Picturehouse, Odeon and Empire all also having to close cinemas in the past year.
Picturehouse will close branches at Stratford East, Bromley and Fulham Road in London this summer.
Meanwhile Odeon closed five in June last year, with Empire collapsing into administration a month later – closing six.
Over the past few years, Britain has been falling out of love with the silver screen as Hollywood strikes, rising prices and the popularity of TV streamers have all turned audiences off.
In 2020 there were 879 cinemas in the UK, but it has fallen every year since then and now amounts to only 825, according to the UK Cinema Association.
The chief executive of the UK Cinema Association Phil Clapp previously told the operating environment for UK cinema ‘undoubtedly remains a challenging one’.
He said: ‘Having survived the unique challenges of the pandemic – when many sites were closed or operating under restrictions for many months – the sector has since then needed to navigate both the cost of living crisis and the writers’ and actors’ strikes of last Autumn.
‘The latter in particular has meant that cinemas have had many fewer films to show the public than they would want.’
1. Cineworld Queens Links, Aberdeen
2. Cineworld Union Square, Aberdeen
3. Cineworld Aldershot
4. Cineworld Ashford
5. Cineworld Ashton-under-Lyne
6. Cineworld Barnsley
7. Cineworld Basildon
8. Cineworld Bedford – to close
9. Cineworld Belfast
10. Cineworld Broad Street, Birmingham
11. Cineworld NEC, Birmingham
12. Cineworld Boldon Tyne and Wear
13. Cineworld Bolton
14. Cineworld Bracknell
15. Cineworld Bradford
16. Cineworld Braintree
17. Cineworld Brighton
18. Cineworld Broughton
19. Cineworld Burton upon Trent
20. Cineworld Bury St Edmunds
21. Cineworld Cardiff
22. Cineworld Castleford
23. Cineworld Cheltenham
24. Cineworld Chesterfield
25. Cineworld Chichester
26. Cineworld Crawley
27. Cineworld Dalton Park
28. Cineworld Didcot
29. Cineworld Didsbury
30. Cineworld Dover
31. Cineworld Dublin
32. Cineworld Dundee
33. Cineworld Eastbourne
34. Cineworld Edinburgh
35. Cineworld Ely
36. Cineworld Falkirk
37. Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow – to close
38. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow
39. Cineworld Silverburn, Glasgow
40. Cineworld Gloucester Quays
41. Cineworld Harlow – Harvey Centre
42. Cineworld Harlow – Queensgate
43. Cineworld Haverhill
44. Cineworld Hemel Hempstead
45. Cineworld High Wycombe
46. Cineworld Hinckley – to close
47. Cineworld Hull
48. Cineworld Huntingdon
49. Cineworld Ipswich
50. Cineworld Leeds
51. Cineworld Leigh
52. Cineworld Llandudno
53. Cineworld Bexleyheath, London
54. Cineworld Enfield, London
55. Cineworld Feltham, London
56. Cineworld Hounslow, London
57. Cineworld Ilford, London
58. Cineworld Leicester Square, London
59. Cineworld South Ruislip, London
60. Cineworld The O2 Greenwich, London
61. Cineworld Wandsworth, London
62. Cineworld Wembley, London
63. Cineworld West India Quay, London
64. Cineworld Wood Green, London
65. Cineworld Loughborough – to close
66. Cineworld Luton
67. Cineworld Middlesbrough
68. Cineworld Milton Keynes
69. Cineworld Newcastle upon Tyne
70. Cineworld Isle of Wight, Newport
71. Cineworld Spytty Park, Newport
72. Cineworld Northampton
73. Cineworld Nottingham
74. Cineworld Plymouth
75. Cineworld Poole
76. Cineworld Rochester
77. Cineworld Rugby
78. Cineworld Rushden Lakes
79. Cineworld Sheffield
80. Cineworld Shrewsbury
81. Cineworld Solihull
82. Cineworld Speke
83. Cineworld Stevenage
84. Cineworld St Helens
85. Cineworld St Neots
86. Cineworld Stoke-on-Trent
87. Cineworld Regent Circus, Swindon – to close
88. Cineworld Shaw Ridge, Swindon
89. Cineworld Telford
90. Cineworld Wakefield
91. Cineworld Warrington
92. Cineworld Watford
93. Cineworld Weston-super-Mare
94. Cineworld Weymouth
95. Cineworld Whiteley
96. Cineworld Witney
97. Cineworld Wolverhampton
98. Cineworld Yate – to close
99. Cineworld Yeovil
100. Cineworld York