Regal Theaters To Close Calabasas Location Amid Bankruptcy Filing – Patch

CALABASAS, CA Some Regal movie theaters across the Southland will close later this month after the chain filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company said.

Cineworld Group has announced that it will be reorganizing the chain after the company filed a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Sept. 7.

The filing comes as the movie theater business continues to struggle in the post lockdown era of the COVID-19 pandemic and in response to an increase of in home-streaming service subscriptions.

Regal theaters which operates swaths of theaters throughout the Southland and also owns the Edwards and United Artists theaters has suffered a significant downturn in box office sales. Regal is the second-largest theater chain in the United States after AMC.

The motion allows the chain to reject its leases at the following properties:

Anaheim Hills - Closing Thursday, Sept. 22

Anaheim Hills 14, 8030 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road, Anaheim Hills

Irvine - Closing Thursday, Sept. 22

Westpark 8, 3735 Alton Parkway, Irvine

Calabasas - Closing Friday, Sept. 30

Calabasas Stadium 6, 4767 Commons Way, Calabasas

"The pandemic was an incredibly difficult time for our business, with the enforced closure of cinemas and huge disruption to film schedules that has led us to this point," Cineworld Chief Executive Mooky Greidinger wrote in a statement.

The company and its subsidiaries have commitments for an approximate $1.94 billion debtor-in-possession financing facility from existing lenders, which will help ensure Cineworlds operations continue as usual while it undergoes a reorganization.

Last month the British company said its theaters remained "open for business as usual" with vendors, suppliers and employee payment as it considered options for relief from its debt load.

Cineworld had built up $4.8 billion in net debt, not including lease liabilities. The company, which has about 28,000 employees, previously said that its admissions levels have recently been below expectations. And with a limited film slate, it expects the lower levels to continue until November. That would mean an additional crunch to its finances.

Cineworld said it expects to exit Chapter 11 during the first quarter of 2023.

In 2020, the company temporarily closed all 543 of its theaters in the United States amid continued revenue loss spurred by the pandemic.

"Without new releases, Cineworld cannot provide customers in bot the U.S. and the U.K. ... with the breadth of strong commercial films necessary for them to consider coming back to theatres," the company said at the time.

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Regal Theaters To Close Calabasas Location Amid Bankruptcy Filing - Patch