Cineworld, the world’s second-largest cinema chain, said it has secured new funding from its lenders and is hoping to reopen all of its sites in July.
The chain, with 787 sites across 10 countries, has secured a waiver on loan covenant and it has agreed $110m of extra liquidity through an increase in its revolving credit facility, it said in a trading update on Thursday.
It has also secured credit committee approval to apply for an additional $45m through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme in the UK.
Cineworld, which had a $3.5bn net debt pile as at 31 December, saw its entire 9,500 screens close due to the coronavirus crisis and lockdowns by the end of March.
The chain, which also owns the Regal and Picture House brands, said two of the big films slated for release in the summer are the new Chris Nolan movie Tenet and Mulan, a new Disney adventure movie.
Rival Vue also plans to reopen its cinemas in July with social distancing norms.
Cineworld, that largest chain behind AMC Theaters, has 546 sites are in the US, which accounted for 73% of Cineworld’s revenues last year. It has 128 sites in the UK and Ireland, accounting for 15% of its revenues in 2019.
Regal is Cineworld’s biggest brand with 546 sites and 7,178 screens. Cineworld and CinemaCity hold the joint second place with 102 sites each. Yes Planet and Picture House are Cineworld’s other two brands.
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