Regal Cinema With 4 Austin Locations To Close: Reports

AUSTIN, TX — The owner of Regal Cinemas — which operates a handful of movie houses in Austin — will close all its theaters by next week, according to reports.

All 543 Regal Cinema theaters in the U.S. will be closed, according to Variety magazine. Moreover, the Sunday Times reported the company plans to close all 128 theaters in the United Kingdom and Ireland as well.

According to the reports, James Bond is to blame for the closures. The 25th Jame Bond film — titled No Time to Die — was delayed to April 2021 as a result of the ongoing pandemic. Officials of the theater chain had been counting on the opening to help infuse much-needed revenue derived from ticket sales.

The news took many by surprise, including the theater chain's employees who wrote on Twitter that "...there has been no consultation with staff whatsoever." Instead, according to the tweet, workers learned some 5,500 jobs were in jeopardy by reading the report in the Sunday Times.

Cineworld is said to have reported a loss of $1.6 billion in the first half of 2020 as people eschew close quarters in adherence of pandemic-era social distancing guidelines.

There are four Regal Cinema locations in the Austin area:

• Regal Westgate, 4477 S. Lamar Blvd.
• Gateway Shopping Centers, 9700 Stonelake Blvd.
• Regal Arbor @ Great Hills, 9828 Great Hills Trail.
• Regal Metropolitan, 901 Little Texas Lane.