What does the latest James Bond delay mean for Vue cinemas like Hartlepool?

Chief Executive Tim Richards said cinema chains were dealt a “body blow” by the next James Bond film, No Time To Die, being pushed back from this December until next April.

Rival chain Cineworld, which has local branches at Dalton Park and Middlesbrough, announced it is temporarily shutting all of its theatres in the UK and America affecting 45,000 workers.

And sci-fi epic Dune which was also due to come out in December has now been moved to October 2021.

Mr Richards told Sky News: “We are struggling, we’re absolutely struggling."

Earlier he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’re good to go. Our problem right now is we have no movies. This was a big blow for us.

“We’ve tried to retain all of our jobs for the 5,500 employees we have in the UK and that’s still our goal.

“We came into this as a very strong industry; we just need to make it through the next three or four months where there are no movies.”

Asked if Vue would shut any sites he said: “We’re being forced right now to look at options.”

Hartlepool’s 10-screen Vue, at the Lanyard, which reopened in late August, currently remains open and is showing a mix of new films, such as Tenet and Bill & Ted Face the Music, and older favourites including Harry Potter and Jurassic Park.

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