Regal operates 543 locations and is one of the biggest movie chains in the United States. They have announced that they will be closing their doors until further notice.
“Any time, at any Regal, it’s our goal to provide a safe and healthy environment for our employees and guests,” Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger told THR in a statement. He continued, “At this time, we have made the difficult decision to close our theaters. We value our movie-loving customers and have no doubt we will be serving them again as soon as possible with a full slate of Hollywood blockbusters.”
Now with other theaters halving their maximum seating and releasing special “social distancing” charts for seating arrangements this may be the start of moving more film releases to Video on Demand services. Already today Universal has announced that many of its big films will be released this Friday to Video on Demand including Invisible Man, Emma and The Hunt. Trolls World Tour will also be releasing on Video on Demand when it was supposed to premiere in April during Easter weekend.