Blockbuster summer ahead as Hartlepool's Vue Cinema reopens

The venue, in The Lanyard, Marina Way, has been closed due to coronavirus restrictions and the impact of the virus on movie distribution.

Now the firm has announced it will reopen on Monday, May 17.

A string of blockbuster releases have been on hold during the pandemic, but with signs the global situation is starting to ease, studios have begun to confirm revised release dates.

Vue Chief Executive Tim Richards said last year that cinema chains had been dealt a “body blow” by the decision to push back the release of the next James Bond film, No Time To Die, from December.

Daniel Craig’s Bond swansong was initially slated for release in April 2020 and has repeatedly been rescheduled. It is currently due for release at the end of September.

Speaking in last year on the decision to put the film back once again, Mr Richards 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.”

As well as No Time to Die, other delayed movies set for release in the coming months include Black Widow, Top Gun: Maverick, Minions: The Rise of Gru and Fast & Furious 9.

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