Cinema chains Odeon, Cineworld, Vue and Picturehouse have announced plans to close their doors for the foreseeable future after new guidance on the Covid-19 outbreak.
PM Boris Johnson called on people to stay away from pubs, clubs and theatres and to avoid all non-essential contacts and travel.
Cineworld and Picturehouse are shutting all UK outlets starting from Wednesday while outlets in Ireland will close today. Vue cinemas will also close from today.
Cineworld Group chief executive Mooky Greidinger said: "At Cineworld and Picturehouse we are committed to providing safe and healthy environments for our employees and guests and have therefore made the difficult decision to close our cinemas in UK and Ireland until further notice.
"We deeply value our cinema-loving customers and have no doubt we will be serving everyone again as soon as possible with a full slate of Hollywood blockbusters and the best of independent films and content."
