The World's Second Largest Movie Theater Chain Files For Bankruptcy

The past two years have been challenging for the movie theater industry. During the first year of the global pandemic, many movie theaters were forced to close their doors.

Even after theaters began to reopen, many moviegoers were not comfortable returning to theaters due to COVID-19. Although the movie industry is starting to recover, it is still struggling. Most recently, Cineworld, the world’s second-largest theater chain operator filed for bankruptcy.

According to CNBC, Britain’s Cineworld Group, which also owns Regal Cinemas, filed for bankruptcy after struggling to deal with a huge debt. The filing will allow the company to stay in business and will affect Cineworld’s properties in both the U.S. and U.K.

Perhaps the most interesting detail about the filing is that Cineworld’s issue has more to do with its accrued debt, rather than its struggles during the pandemic. The company’s net debt was $8.9 billion at the end of 2021.

General view at the European premiere of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” at Cineworld Leicester Square December 18, 2019 in London, UK © Disney

This comes at a time, though, when major theatrical releases are down a whopping 43 percent, as compared to the same time in 2019. However, Cineworld, and Regal Cinemas, will remain open during this time. The company said it hopes to come out of its Chapter 11 protection during early 2023 and had plans to pay its vendors in full, as well as continue to pay employees their regular wages.

So if you’re worried about your local Cineworld or Regal Cinemas closing, the good news is that it shouldn’t. In the meantime, there are plenty of big movies coming out later this year, including Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Avatar: The Way of the Water.

In the meantime, a few other huge movies will be releasing soon on Disney+, including Thor: Love and Thunder, the live-action Pinocchio, and Hocus Pocus 2.