Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Coronavirus: Vue boss hopeful that UK cinemas will reopen by mid-July

Cinema chain head is in discussions with officials over implementing new social distancing practices

Louis Chilton
Tuesday 05 May 2020 13:12 BST
Comments
Tenet - Trailer

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

The head of Vue cinemas, one of the UK’s biggest cinema chains, has said he is hopeful that cinemas will reopen in mid-July.

Cinemas across the UK have been closed during the coronavirus pandemic, with several high-profile films suffering delays as a result, including Disney’s live-action Mulan and the new James Bond film No Time to Die.

Tim Richards, Vue’s chief executive, told the BBC that he was discussing social distancing measures with UK authorities.

“We can control how many people come into our cinemas,” he said.

Warner Bros recently announced they were postponing the releases of several of their biggest projects, with the except of the Christopher Nolan-directed Tenet, which is still scheduled to come out on 17 July. This is apparently in accordance with the wishes of the director, rather than the studio.

In order for cinemas to reopen, the government would need to officially relax the current lockdown measures. Boris Johnson is expected to provide an update this Sunday on the plans to ease restrictions.

“We are seeing our markets in Europe opening before ours,” said Richards. “We are trying to work with the government to demonstrate we are not like sporting fixtures and pop concerts.”

“We can control how many people come into our cinemas at any one time – we have the ability to control the exit and entrance.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in