The COVID-19 pandemic has closed all 165 Cineplex theatres in Canada (as well as Landmark Cinemas and Imagine Cinemas.)

In the United States, all AMC and Regal theatres have also closed.

The Los Angeles Times reports that:

“AMC Theatres said it would close all of its U.S. locations, starting Tuesday, for six to 12 weeks in response to the pandemic after President Trump declared that people should avoid gatherings of more than 10 people.”

The moves follow widespread orders to close bars and clubs and other places where people gather to socialize.

My take: although the movie exhibition industry has been in decline for the last decade, it only took one week of this pandemic to kill it. Suddenly VOD is an option for new movies as the 90-day theatre window proves impossible. People will be streaming everything for the next two weeks to two months and it’s going to be hard to get them back into the theatres.

In the meantime, here’s something funny to watch: