One-Quarter of U.K.’s Odeon Cinemas to Cut Back to Weekend-Only Schedule

A representative from Odeon has confirmed that the chain will be dialing back to a weekend-only (Friday-Sunday) opening schedule for approximately one-quarter of its U.K. locations. The news was communicated to members of Limitless, Odeon’s subscription service, over the weekend.

Odeon is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group, owned by AMC Theatres.

The decision comes shortly after No Time to Die, hoped to be a big earner particularly for the U.K. market, was delayed from November 20, 2020 to April 2, 2021. The film was to be the first major studio release since Warner Bros.’ Tenet, released in the U.K. on August 26. In recent weeks, Disney also delayed its release of Black Widow, previously slated for November.

With the number of major Hollywood releases in November currently down to three—Universal’s Freaky on November 13 and The Croods: A New Age on November 25 and Disney/Pixar’s Soul on November 20—cinemas worldwide face a crunch, as there’s little new content to program over the coming weeks.

Reflective of this, Cineworld Group CEO Mooky Greidinger today announced that its Cineworld and Picturehouse locations in the U.K. and its Regal locations in the U.S. will be temporarily re-closing. Greidinger cited the “inflexibility” of New York’s Governor Cuomo in not allowing cinemas to reopen, which in turn causes studios to continue to shift their lineups further down the calendar.

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