Vue Cinemas delay reopening in England to 31 July

The Vue cinema chain has push back its reopening date in England to 31 July following the delays Mulan and Tenet.

The nationwide cinema operates 91 cinemas throughout the UK and Ireland, with over 870 screens. Along with all cinemas across the country, it closed its doors mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It had stated plans to begin reopening sites from 4 July, in line with the governments easing of lockdown restrictions that allows cinemas to begin operating again from Saturday, but has now followed Cineworld in delaying to the end of the month.

“Having taken comprehensive steps to safeguard our staff and customers, Vue is ready to welcome back customers to its UK cinemas to enjoy the escapism of the big screen experience.

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We know from successfully re-opening cinemas across Europe.. that audiences after lockdown are itching to enjoy the big screen experience again, with the added reassurance of rigorous new operating protocols and appropriate physical distancing,” Vue CEO Tim Richards told Variety.

“We also want to offer a great choice of content for the big screen experience and, despite having many classic films and recent releases lined up to whet the appetite of cinema audiences this summer, the worldwide rescheduling of the release dates of Mulan and Tenet has prompted us to review our opening dates,” said the executive.

The company operates 228 sites over ten countries and has already reopened around 70 sites in Germany, Denmark, Holland, Lithuania, Poland and Italy. It plans to reopen in the UK with a 2K version of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and the re-release of Christopher Nolan’s Inception.

Odeon and Showcase remain the only multiplex brands planning to reopen from 4 July.