According to information obtained by News, the corporation has identified 18 locations throughout the United Kingdom that may close before Christmas if agreements with their owners cannot be reached.
The closures would bring the total to 23 if talks to keep them open fall down. Five closures were already made throughout the summer.
Recent court approval of Cineworld’s restructuring plan resulted in significant rent reductions for many of its movie theater landlords.
A number of well-known landlords, including British Land and Land Securities, opposed the contentious scheme, but it received enough backing from creditors to be approved.
The company’s claim in August that only five facilities would close and that claims that about 25 were in danger were “inaccurate” is contradicted by the uncertainty surrounding an additional 18 sites.
“We want to reassure our customers and staff that we have no plans to close any additional cinemas beyond the five already closed,” a Cineworld representative stated.
The corporation lacked the funds to pay a £15.9 million quarterly rent due on June 24th, according to documents that were distributed as part of the restructuring plan process.
They claimed that the UK Group would have been cash flow insolvent without this finance.
