NEW YORK — U.S. movie theaters nationwide are preparing to shut down after President Donald Trump announced new guidelines urging against gatherings of more than 10 people because of the coronavirus pandemic. With big screens across the country going dark, Hollywood moved to rush some new releases onto home entertainment platforms.
Regal Cinemas, the national’s second-largest theater chain, said Monday that would close all cinemas beginning today. AMC Theaters, the largest theater circuit which bought Vancouver-based Cinetopia in 2019, didn’t immediately respond to messages. Earlier in the day, AMC said it would limit audiences to less than 50 people for every screening to facilitate social distancing.
All theaters in Washington were closed by Gov. Jay Inslee, along with bars and restaurants, starting at 12:01 a.m. today. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown ordered all bars and restaurants to close in the state.
The coronavirus pandemic also cracked Hollywood’s traditional theatrical window. Universal Pictures on Monday said it will make its current and upcoming films available for on-demand rental, becoming the first major studio to turn directly to home viewing in light of the virus.
The studio said it will put movies currently in theaters — “Invisible Man,” “The Hunt,” “Emma” — up for rental beginning as early as Friday. It also said that “Trolls World Tour,” one of the only major releases left on the April film release calendar, will debut in theaters and on-demand services simultaneously. A 48-hour rental will cost $19.99.
The move came as theaters worldwide have closed and many North American cinemas were shuttering. On Sunday, the mayors of New York and Los Angeles ordered their cities’ theaters closed. Theaters in Massachusetts and Quebec also shuttered. Overseas, most European cinemas have shut down, as have those in China, India and elsewhere.
Over the weekend, ticket sales plunged to their lowest levels in at least 20 years at the box office for U.S. and Canadian theaters. Not since a quiet September weekend in 2000 has weekend box office revenue been so low, according to data firm Comscore. More people went to the movies the weekend after Sept. 11, 2001.
“Rather than delaying these films or releasing them into a challenged distribution landscape, we wanted to provide an option for people to view these titles in the home that is both accessible and affordable,” NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said in a statement.
