The nation's second-biggest movie theater chain is going dark later this week. Its British parent company, Cineworld, is announcing the 536 Regal theaters across the U.S. will temporarily suspend operations beginning Thursday.
The shutdown will affect about 40,000 employees. Cineworld says it's being crippled as new studio releases have dried up because of the coronavirus pandemic. Cineworld's CEO said, "We're like a grocery shop that doesn't have vegetables, fruit, meat; we can't operate a long time without a product."
There are five Regal Cinema theaters in the Capital Region that have not reopened since closing in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.