Cineworld has announced that six more of its movie theaters in the UK will close, bringing the total number of closures for 2024 to 11. This follows the shutdown of five cinemas in October.
The six cinemas that will close are located in Castleford, Leigh, Middlesbrough, Northampton, Poole, and Weymouth. Weymouth will close on December 30, 2024, while the other five will shut down on January 19, 2025.
This news comes at a time when UK cinemas are doing well, with recent hits like Wicked (£37.7 million), Moana 2 (£21.5 million), and Gladiator 2 (£26.6 million) performing strongly.
Cineworld’s restructuring plan has now been completed. The goal of the plan was to ensure the company’s long-term future by cutting down on high operating costs. It included measures like lowering rent prices at some locations and protecting thousands of jobs in the UK.
However, the restructuring has led to the closure of these six additional cinemas after landlords decided to reclaim the properties. Despite this, Cineworld has secured more funding and plans to invest up to £35 million to upgrade and improve its remaining theaters.
Javier Sotomayor, President of Cineworld International, said, “The successful completion of our Restructuring Plan protects thousands of jobs across the UK and gives us the financial stability to continue investing in great experiences for our customers.”
After these closures, Cineworld will still operate 89 cinemas in the UK and 25 more through its Picturehouse brand. The 11 closures in 2024 join two others that closed in 2023, following Cineworld’s bankruptcy filing in the US in September 2022.