Coronavirus: Odeon, Cineworld and Picturehouse cinemas closed as pandemic spreads

Cinemas throughout the UK are closing in response to the crisis

Cinemas across the UK, including Cineworld, Odeon and Picturehouse, have closed as coronavirus spreads.

The chains have cancelled all screenings from Wednesday 18 March until further notice.

Cineworld Group CEO Mooky Greidinger said: “At Cineworld and Picturehouse we are committed to providing safe and healthy environments for our employees and guests and have therefore made the difficult decision to close our cinemas in UK and Ireland until further notice.”

On Odeon's website, the cinema chain wrote: ”Following government guidelines Odeon cinemas are closed until further notice.“

“We deeply value our cinema-loving customers and have no doubt we will be serving everyone again as soon as possible with a full slate of Hollywood blockbusters and the best of independent films and content.”

The move follows yesterday's speech by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in which he advised people to avoid public places like bars and restaurants in order to slow the spread of the disease.

Smaller cinemas are also closing because of the virus, including London’s BFI Southbank.

Many high-profile film releases have been pushed back in response to the crisis, including the James Bond film No Time to Die, Disney’s live-action Mulan remake, and Fast & Furious 9.

Universal has announced they will be making their newly released films available digitally because of the virus.

One of the other surprising effects of the pandemic is a resurgence of interest in virus-related media; Steven Soderbergh's 2011 film Contagion is currently one of Warner Bros' most in-demand titles.

Dean Koontz’s book Eyes of Darkness recently made headlines for seemingly predicting the outbreak, while another – released in 2008 – went viral for saying an illness would spread globally “around 2020”.

Popular cartoon The Simpsons has also been highlighted for its accurate depiction of a global pandemic, and a clip from British sitcom Yes Minister went viral for mirroring the response of the British government.

The coronavirus pandemic has also seen many film and TV productions shut down after Trump declared a “national emergency”. Find a full list of everything affected here.