Cineworld Dublin on Parnell Street, which first opened as Virgin Cinemas in 1995. Its parent company is now mulling Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US.Cinemas have more obvious charms wrapped into their real estate history, so it sounds strange to say I have many fond thoughts about Cineworld and the site on Dublin’s Parnell Street on which a multiplex has been open, excepting lockdowns, since 1995.
Before this starts coming across as a quasi-eulogy, I should point out that Cineworld Dublin is open and remains a going concern, with functioning vats of madly priced popcorn, really quite harsh bathroom lighting and a good 20 minutes of trailers and advertising before the Irish Film Classification Office certificate mercifully arrives. I still love it.
Ah, a comprehensive deleveraging transaction — the kind of dramatic transformation that does not win Oscars. It means, of course, a desperate bid to escape from the weight of ship-sinking debt. The Cineworld horror show can be quantified at $5 billion in borrowings, a sum too great for even the second-largest cinema chain in the world to carry these days.
Cinema optimists may glean initial comfort from analysts who stress that particular decisions made by Cineworld’s management have brought it to this debt-stricken predicament.
Cineworld bosses have only themselves to blame as it was always predictable Regal acquisition in December 2017 that tripled the size of the company would cause long-term damage to the very successful medium sized cinema chain up to then, in May 2017 shares were 320p today 2.38p