After reopening for about two months, Regal Cinemas at Prince Kuhio Plaza in Hilo is closing along with 535 other Regal theaters throughout the United States.
The second-largest movie theater chain in the U.S. is temporarily closing its locations because of a lack of blockbuster movies and because major domestic markets such as New York remain closed, the Associated Press reported.
British cinema company Cineworld, which owns Regal, said Monday that it would close the Regal theaters along with 127 Cineworld and Picturehouse venues in the U.K. this week, affecting some 45,000 employees, according to the AP.
“Regal Cinemas is closed (Monday) evening and will probably not reopen this week,” said Prince Kuhio Plaza manager Daniel Kea. “There was a plan to open on weekends only, but I don’t think that will be happening at this point.”
On Monday afternoon, the lights were off and the machine where moviegoers can purchase and print tickets was turned off. The manager of Regal Cinemas at the mall was unable to comment.
Efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 resulted in the closure of most movie theaters for nearly six months.
In late August, Regal opened in select cities with a range of new health and safety measures based on guidelines provided by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
Regal theaters, including the location at Prince Kuhio Plaza, put resources into enhanced safety and sanitization protocols, including limited capacity theaters, social-distanced seating, cashless transactions and staggered show times.
Ticket sales for Warner Bros.’ “Tenet,” the first major film released during the pandemic, were not as strong as hoped, which in turn caused other studios to further postpone other blockbuster films, according to the AP.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.