Cineworld, the owner of Regal Cinemas, confirmed in a statement today that they are considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but only as one of a number of “strategic options” available to the second-largest theater chain in North America. News of a bankruptcy filing hit last week, with The Wall Street Journal also saying that in the United Kingdom (where Cineworld is based), they are considering filing for an insolvency proceeding. This is the latest in a series of serious issues for Cineworld, who avoided bankruptcy in 2020 because in the throes of the pandemic, creditors were a bit more understanding of the theater chain’s troubles.
The Hollywood Reporter quotes a statement posted Monday, in which the company said that Cineworld and Regal theaters “are open for business as usual and continue to welcome guests and members,” adding, “The strategic options through which Cineworld may achieve its restructuring objectives include a possible voluntary Chapter 11 filing in the United States and associated ancillary proceedings in other jurisdictions as part of an orderly implementation process.”
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During the 2020 scare, AMC Theatres ended up getting an injection of cash from the internet, who turned the failing chain into a “meme stock” like Gamestop. Cineworld Chief Executive Mooky Greidinger told The Wall Street Journal that every company didn’t have the good fortune to be lifted out of trouble by the arbitrray whims of Reddit.
“I think what happened to them is a very good thing for AMC. And you know, we are traded in the U.K. market. Not every stock in the U.S. market is a meme stock. And I think that AMC did well with it,” he began. “They handled the situation in a good way. And I think that investors will see the conduct of the industry and will see the way we are performing, and we will see this in our share price. Are we going to become a meme stock? I don’t think so.”
“There are pluses and minuses in every thing in life. I will not give you a straight answer. Of course I would love my shares to be much higher than they are today. But you know, in everything like this there is also an element of risk,” Greidinger continued. “I am happy for AMC that they are doing well. At the end of the day, with all of the competition in the industry, I don’t think that any industry wants to see one of the huge players of the industry falling down. This isn’t positive news for anyone.”
