With many cities already closing theaters, bars, and restaurants, Cinemark Theatres has announced the closure of all U.S. theaters, effective Wednesday, March 18th. The following is the official statement from Cinemark Theatres CEO, Mark Zoradi:
“The entire Cinemark team cares deeply about our guests, employees and communities, and we have made the incredibly difficult decision to close our U.S. theatres to ensure we are playing our part to slow the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). Each of our theatres will be closed beginning Wednesday, March 18, until we believe it is safe to once again welcome moviegoers to our auditoriums.
We appreciate your many concerns during these truly unprecedented times, and we want to relieve any uncertainties that you may have about your loyalty membership with Cinemark. To do this, we have increased the flexibility of our Cinemark Movie Rewards programs by:
• Extending the expiration date for all Cinemark Movie Rewards points to June 30, 2020, providing you the opportunity to redeem the rewards you earned; and
• Pausing your Movie Club membership while our theatres are closed. During this challenging time, we are looking out for you and will not bill you your monthly fee. Don’t worry, active members will never lose unused movie credits, even while your membership is paused.
We will, of course, refund all tickets that were purchased in advance. Online purchases will be automatically refunded in five to seven business days. Tickets purchased at a Cinemark box office can be refunded by filling out a request at www.cinemark.com/contact-us.
Cinemark will continue to follow guidance from local and national governmental health organizations, and we will continue to share updates as we have them at www.cinemark.com.
We also understand the profound impact the closure of our theatres has on our employees, and it is not a decision we made lightly. We will continue to support our employees to the best of our abilities as we navigate through this most turbulent time. I am thankful for the unwavering dedication of our Cinemark employees, as well as your trust and support. We greatly look forward to inviting you to once again enjoy the immersive experience of watching movies at Cinemark.”
Of course, closures and cancellations come at no surprise by now, and we can expect many more of these announcements to come.
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