Cinemark Closes All Theaters Due to Coronavirus Pandemic

The United States theater industry is effectively shut down for the foreseeable future. Tuesday, Cinemark announced it would temporarily closing all locations in the United States, following in the steps of AMC Theatres, Alamo Drafthouse, and Regal Cinemas. Per the theater, all 345 of its sites in the country will be “temporarily” closed in an attempt to help stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Through these absolutely unprecedented and evolving times, one thing will not change, and that is Cinemark’s dedication to its team members and moviegoers,” Cinemark chief Mark Zoradi said in a statement. “The decision to close our U.S. theatres was incredibly tough, but we know it is the right thing to do as global Coronavirus concerns continue to escalate. We will closely monitor recommendations of national and local governmental health organizations and look forward to inviting everyone to once again enjoy experiencing the movies with Cinemark.”

It’s not entirely clear when theaters will begin reopening. In AMC’s statement late Monday, it was expected the chain would be closed for at least six weeks, through the earliest parts of May. Virtually every wide release between now and then has since been postponed to a later date.

“We are ever so disappointed for our moviegoing guests and for our employee teams that the new CDC guidelines that Americans should not gather in groups larger than 10 people make it impossible to open our theatres,” AMC CEO Adam Aron said in a statement. “Still, the health and wellbeing of AMC guests and employees, and of all Americans, takes precedence above all else. We will continue to monitor this situation very closely and look forward to the day we can again delight moviegoers nationwide by reopening AMC movie theatres in accordance with guidance from the CDC and local health authorities.”

Outside of theatrical mainstays like AMC, Cinemark, and Regal, a healthy chunk of regional and independent theaters have also temporarily closed their doors, including Harkins, Bow Tie, Landmark, and Showcase.