Closures 'not an option' for cinema chain Kinepolis (updated)

Kinepolis NV

05/10/2020 16:48

(Repeats with no changes to text)
    By Milla Nissi
    Oct 5 (Reuters) - Closing cinema doors is "not an option" as
customers trickle back into theatres, Belgium-based Kinepolis
 KIPO.BR  told Reuters on Monday, after Cineworld  CINE.L 
announced closures affecting as many as 45,000 jobs.
    Cineworld, the world's second-biggest cinema chain said it
would close its UK and U.S. cinemas this week, as it fights a
coronavirus-related collapse in film releases and cinema-going.
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    "We are not considering to close our cinemas again," said
Anneleen Van Troos, the corporate communications manager for
Kinepolis, stressing that people were willing to come back, with
new content like 'Tenet' on the screen.
    The company has 55 cinemas in Europe, plus 45 in Canada and
10 in the United States.
    The group was opening its MJR cinemas in Michigan later this
week, and following that all its theatres, which had been closed
during the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns this spring, would
be open, Van Troos added.
    The group had seen a rise in visitor numbers since the
summer and was now at 35-50% of its pre-COVID forecasts, she
said. The company expects further improvement during autumn and
winter, traditionally a better season for cinemas.
    "Of course, we do not hide the fact that James Bond would
have given us a very good push," Van Troos said, referring to
the new 007 franchise film postponed until the spring of 2021.
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    Kinepolis' chief executive predicted in August that the rise
of online streaming for films during the pandemic would only be
a temporary setback to the cinema industry.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2FM4RF


 (Reporting by Milla Nissi in Gdansk
Editing by Keith Weir)
 ((Milla.Nissi@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 772 0920;))