Cineworld and Picturehouse theatres will close from Thursday as the company struggles to make money with films delayed and Covid-19 restrictions stepped up.
The company said the closure would only be temporary, but gave no end date for when they would reopen.
Chief executive Mooky Greidinger said the closure might last two months, but couldn't be sure at this point.
“We had no alternative but to close our sites… we were bleeding much bigger amounts when open than closed,” he told Sky News.
“Our reopening from lockdown was initially good, but we don't have the films.
"Many significant movies have moved, like Mulan, like Black Widow, like Kingsman - Wonder Woman moved from October to December - and on Friday we got the news that the Bond movie - that, needless to say, for the UK is the biggest movie of the year - also decided to move."
Shares in Cineworld dropped by 57% as markets opened on Monday after it confirmed the plans.
Cineworld reopened some of its cinemas in July this year.
Cineworld said its main priorities remain the safety of customers and employees, cash preservation and cost reduction.
The chain's official reason for the closures was given as a "challenging theatrical landscape and sustained key market closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic".
It added that delaying of films by studios was a major part of this.
Here's the full list of Picturehouse and Cineworld venues closing on Thursday:
Cineworld
- Aberdeen - Queens Links
- Aberdeen - Union Square
- Aldershot
- Ashford
- Ashton-under-Lyne
- Basildon
- Bedford
- Birmingham - Broad Street
- Birmingham - NEC
- Boldon, Tyne and Wear
- Bolton
- Bracknell
- Bradford
- Braintree
- Brighton
- Bristol
- Broughton
- Burton upon Trent
- Bury St Edmunds
- Cardiff
- Castleford
- Cheltenham
- Chesterfield
- Chichester
- Crawley
- Dalton Park
- Didcot
- Didsbury
- Dover
- Dundee
- Eastbourne - The Beacon
- Edinburgh
- Ely
- Falkirk
- Glasgow - IMAX at GSC
- Glasgow - Parkhead
- Glasgow - Renfrew Street
- Glasgow - Silverburn
- Gloucester Quays
- Harlow - Harvey Centre
- Harlow - Queensgate
- Haverhill
- Hemel Hempstead
- High Wycombe
- Hinckley
- Hull
- Huntingdon
- Ipswich
- Jersey
- Leeds - White Rose
- Leigh
- Llandudno
- London - Bexleyheath
- London - Enfield
- London - Feltham
- London - Fulham Road
- London - Ilford
- London - Leicester Square
- London - South Ruislip
- London - The O2 Greenwich
- London - Wandsworth
- London - Wembley
- London - West India Quay
- London - Wood Green
- Loughborough
- Luton
- Middlesbrough
- Milton Keynes
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Newport - Isle of Wight
- Newport (Wales) - Friars Walk
- Newport (Wales) - Spytty Park
- Northampton
- Nottingham
- Plymouth
- Poole
- Rochester
- Rugby
- Runcorn
- Rushden Lakes
- Sheffield
- Shrewsbury
- Solihull
- Speke
- Stevenage
- St Helens
- St Neots
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Swindon - Regent Circus
- Swindon - Shaw Ridge
- Telford
- Wakefield
- Warrington
- Watford
- Weston-super-Mare
- Weymouth
- Whiteley
- Witney
- Wolverhampton
- Yate
- Yeovil
- York
Picturehouse
- Ashford
- Bath - Little Theatre Cinema
- Brighton - Duke of York's
- Brighton - Duke's At Komedia
- Cambridge - Arts
- Edinburgh - Cameo
- Henley-On-Thames - Exeter Regal
- Liverpool - Fact
- London - Bromley
- London - Clapham
- London - Crouch End
- London - East Dulwich
- London - Finsbury Park
- London - Fulham Road
- London - Greenwich
- London - Hackney
- London - Picturehouse Central
- London - Ritzy
- London - Stratford
- London - The Gate
- London - West Norwood
- Norwich - Cinema City
- Oxford - Phoenix
- Southampton - Harbour Lights
- York - City Screen
