Cineworld to close in Milton Keynes from this Thursday

The closure will be on a temporary basis due to a "challenging theatrical landscape and sustained key market closures”, say Cineworld bosses.

The company says delaying of film releases by studios was also major part of its decision to close.

The news comes just days after filmmakers announced the next James Bond film, No Time To Die, was to be delayed for the second time, until April next year.

"Without these new releases, Cineworld cannot provide customers in both the US and the UK - the company's primary markets - with the breadth of strong commercial films necessary for them to consider coming back to theatres against the backdrop of Covid-19," said a Cineworld spokesman.

The company temporarily closed all their cinemas throughout the UK and United States at the start of lockdown in March but started reopening in July,

Now all the outlets will now temporarily close again.

Chief executive Mooky Greidinger, said: "This is not a decision we made lightly, and we did everything in our power to support safe and sustainable reopenings in all of our markets - including meeting, and often exceeding, local health and safety guidelines in our theatres and working constructively with regulators and industry bodies to restore public confidence in our industry."

Mr Greidinger said the chain is both grateful for and proud of the work that employees put into adapting its cinemas in order to adhere to new Covid-19 protocols.

Cineworld has 128 branches in the UK and Ireland, and 536 Regal theatres in the US. Picturehouse cinemas, which are owned by Cineworld, will also be affected.

The closures will impact a total of 45,000 employees, 6,000 of whom are in the UK.