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| Odeon cinemas will be closed until further notice Photo: Odeon |
The Vue, Odeon, Picturehouse and Cineworld cinema chains have announced they are going to close their doors in the UK and Ireland until further notice due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Glasgow Film Theatre has also announced it will shut, with a plan to re-open on April 17, "subject to the situation at the time," and the city's mixed film and arts venue the CCA is closing "until at least Saturday 18 April." The BFI Southbank in London has closed.
The news comes in the wake of Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging the country to avoid "all non-essential contact" yesterday in a bit to slow the spread of Covid-19.
Odeons cinemas are closing their 133 UK and Irish sites "until further notice" and Cineworld/Picturehouse, which has 102 cinemas, will close from tomorrow.
Cineworld Group CEO, Mooky Greidinger said: “We deeply value our cinema-loving customers and have no doubt we will be serving everyone again as soon as possible with a full slate of Hollywood blockbusters and the best of independent films and content.”
Cinefile have also cancelled upcoming screenings at Edinburgh Summerhall. Planned shows of The Bridesmaid (29 March) and A Faithful Man (26 April) will not go ahead at present while the next series of films from May until July has been put on hold. All customers who have booked tickets will be contacted by Summerhall and will be offered a full refund.
With the closure of cinemas Cinefile Distribution’s release of The Lady in the Portrait (scheduled for 3 April) also has been postponed until a later date to be confirmed.
Eureka have also announced the postponement of the release of The Painted Bird - originally due out on March 27 - has now been pushed back to later in the year, with a release date to be announced in due course.
Rocks, which was due to go on release on April 10 will also now be released by Altitude later in the year.
The Curzon has announced it will close all its cinemas from tomorrow, but asked customers to continue supporting it through their online Home Cinema platform.
Philip Knatchbull, CEO of Curzon, said: "We intend to keep our current distribution slate on their published release dates and look to increase audiences through Curzon Home Cinema. Theatrical screenings will follow as and when possible. Hirokazu Koreeda’s The Truth, starring Juliette Binoche and Catherine Deneuve, will launch this Friday on Curzon Home Cinema as planned.”
