Regal closing all of its US movie theaters again. It had just reopened in NC.

All Regal movie theaters in the U.S. will temporarily close again Thursday, just days after they reopened in Charlotte and across North Carolina, the company confirmed Monday.

The closure will affect 40,000 employees at its 536 Regal theaters, according to a news release sent to the Observer. That move impacts five Charlotte-area cinemas. A company official did not immediately respond for comment Monday on how many jobs will be affected in the Carolinas.

Parent company Cineworld said the closings are due to studios being reluctant to release new films and because major U.S. markets like New York remain closed without a reopening timeline, according to the news release.

For instance, the new James Bond movie, “No Time To Die,” was recently delayed a second time and now will not be released until April 2021.

“The prolonged closures have had a detrimental impact on the release slate for the rest of the year, and, in turn, our ability to supply our customers with the lineup of blockbusters they’ve come to expect from us,” Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger said in the statement. “It is simply impossible to continue operations in our primary markets.”

The company did not indicate when it may reopen its theaters.

On Sunday, Cineworld had said on Twitter it was considering shutting down all theaters in the U.S. and U.K., the Observer previously reported. The company is based in the United Kingdom.

Regal began reopening its theaters in the U.S. Aug. 21. It has 7,076 screens in 536 theaters in 42 states in the U.S., according to the company.

Regal announced Friday that 13 of its North Carolina theaters, including four in the Charlotte area, would reopen that night as coronavirus-related restrictions on businesses eased across the state. All movie theaters had been temporarily closed since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But now, Regal Cinebarre Arboretum and Regal Stonecrest at Piper Glen in Charlotte, Regal Stonecrest Birkdale & RPX in Huntersville and Regal Franklin Square Stadium 14 in Gastonia will close again.

Two other Charlotte theaters, Regal Phillips Place and Regal Starlight Charlotte, had not been listed among the openings. A Regal spokeswoman on Friday had said those theaters would open soon, but that was before Monday’s announcement.

In South Carolina, Regal Manchester in Rock Hill just south of Charlotte, reopened Aug. 28. It’s among 15 reopened theaters statewide, according to Regal’s website.

Back in May, Regal said it would not reopen Manor Twin, one of Charlotte’s last full-time art houses, after permanently closing Regal Ballantyne Village in February.

Another chain closed, too

Another movie theater chains, Charlotte-based Stone Theatres opened its two South Carolina theaters, including one in Indian Land, in August but closed them less than a month later, citing low attendance and lack of new releases.

Dale Coleman, vice president of the regional chain, previously told the Observer the chain wouldn’t open its four North Carolina theaters until possibly Nov. 20 with the release of “No Time to Die.”

Like Bond, other blockbuster films such as “Black Widow,” “Wonder Woman 1984” and “Top Gun: Maverick” also pushed back release dates during the pandemic.

And Studio Movie Grill Prosperity Village does not have plans yet to reopen in Charlotte, a company spokeswoman told the Observer.

Some stay open

Several other theaters reopened Friday around Charlotte, including AmStar 14 in Mooresville and Ayrsley Grand Cinema in Steele Creek.

Carolina Cinema Mall in Concord also reopened, and is continuing to hold a pop-up drive-in that started over the summer in the parking lot. “Scream” will be showing this weekend.

Additional theaters are planning to reopen starting this week.

Cinemark Movie Bistro Charlotte on Monroe Road will reopen Friday, according to the company. The five other Cinemark theaters in North Carolina, including one in Salisbury, also will reopen this week.

The Gem Theatre in Kannapolis, touted as one of the oldest single-screen movie theaters in continuous operation in the country, will reopen Friday showing “The War With Grandpa.”

AMC theaters in the Charlotte region will begin opening this week, according to the chain headquartered in Kansas and owned by Wanda Group in China. It has 23 theaters in North Carolina.

Four of its Charlotte theaters will open Friday — AMC Carolina Pavilion 22, AMC Concord Mills 24, AMC Northlake Mall 14 and AMC Park Terrace 6.

AMC Hickory 15 also will open Friday, followed by AMC CLASSIC Lincolnton 8 and AMC CLASSIC Shelby 10 on Oct. 16.

This story was originally published October 5, 2020 at 10:54 AM with the headline "Regal closing all of its US movie theaters again. It had just reopened in NC.."