Cineworld to close all UK cinemas with 5,500 jobs at risk - reports

The closures come as the release of the latest James Bond film was further delayed from November to spring 2021, the PA news agency understands.

Cineworld has a cinema in Whiteley.

As first reported in The Sunday Times, bosses will write to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden to tell them that cinema has become ‘unviable’ as studios keep putting back blockbuster releases.

The closure of its 128 sites across the country will put up to 5,500 jobs at risk.

In July, the Government promised a package of more than £1.5 billion to help the arts and culture industries forced to shut down earlier this year as a result of the pandemic.

Cineworld had reopened most of its cinemas in July when lockdown measures were eased across the country.

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Daniel Craig’s final outing as spy James Bond will not hit big screens until next April, it was announced on Friday.

No Time To Die was originally scheduled for release in April 2020, but was first pushed back to November as a result of the pandemic.

A statement on the film’s official Twitter account said: ‘We understand the delay will be disappointing to our fans but we now look forward to sharing NO TIME TO DIE next year.’

Marvel’s Black Widow was recently pushed back to 2021, while Disney released the new live-action version of Mulan on its streaming service – for an additional charge – instead of releasing it in cinemas.

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