Cineworld Group Plc was founded in 1995 and is one of the leading cinema groups in Europe.
Started as a private company, it re-registered as a public company in May 2006 and listed on the London Stock Exchange in May 2007.
Cineworld has acquired a number of big name operators, including the UK operations of UGC in 2004 and the Picturehouse chain in 2012.
It combined with Cinema City International N.V in 2014 and acquired Regal Entertainment Group in 2018, making it the second largest cinema business in the world by number of screens.
Cineworld currently operates in the UK, Ireland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Israel and the USA.
It operates 787 sites, 9,500 screens and employs 37,482 staff worldwide.
Revenue in 2019 was reported at $4,370 bn, with its market in the United States accounting for 73%, UK 15% and 12% across the rest of the world.
In September 2020, Cineworld reported half-year losses of £1.3bn.
The temporary closures announced on Monday, October 5, relate to sites across the USA and the UK, affecting around 45,000 employees in the two countries – Cineworld’s two main markets.
After the announcement was made, shares in Cineworld dropped by 57% as markets opened on Monday.
