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Nearly all cinemas close nationwide to contain coronavirus spread

US movie theaters have closed nationwide due to the coronavirus pandemic, tur💖ning dark nearly all of the country’s 40,000-plus screens in an unprecedented shutdown.

With most of Hollywood’s March and April releases already postponed, the Walt Disney Co. on Tuesday also cleared out its May releases ♊as well, including 🦩Marvel’s “Black Widow.”

The largest chains had tried to remain open even as Hollywood postponed its upcoming release plans and guidelines for social distancing steadi♍ly diminished the recommended size of crowds. But after President Trump on Monday urged against gatherings of more than 10 people, AMC Theaters, the nation’s largest chain, said Tuesday its theaters would close altogether.

AMC said the latest guidelines made movie theater operations “essentially impossible.” It said it would close all locations in the US for at least six to 12🤡 weeks. Regal, the second largest chain, said Monday tha💦t its theaters would close until further notice.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more s🎃evere illness, including pneumonia.

The vast majority of people recover from the𓆉 new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.

Disney also indefinitely postponed “Black Widow,” which had been set to open May 1. Marvel movies have for years been the regular kickoff to the summer movie going season. The company also put off the releases of “David Copperfield” (May 8) and “The Woman in the Window” (May 15).

With movie theaters locked down for the foreseeable future, some studios took the extraordinary step of funneling new or recently released films onto home viewing platforms. Universal Pictures said Monday it will make its current and upcoming films available for on-de🅺mand rental, becoming the first major studio to break the traditional theatrical window of 90 days, due to the pandemic.

The studio said it will put movies currently in theaters — “Invis🎃ible Man,” “The Hunt,” “Emma” — up for rental as early as Friday. It also said that “Trolls World Tour,” one of the only major releases left on the April calenda𒉰r, will debut in theaters and on-demand services simultaneously. A 48-hour rental will cost $19.99.

Most of Eurꦇope’s cinemas have already shut down, as have those in China, India and elsewhere. North America’s shutdown 🦩came gradually. On Sunday, the mayors of New York and Los Angeles ordered their cities’ theaters closed. Governments in Massachusetts and Quebec also closed theaters.

Cinemark, the nation’s third-largest chain, hasn’t yet announced closures. But chains like the Alamo Drafthouse, Landmark Theatres, Showcase Cinemas and Bow Tie C𝔉inemas have closed. Most of those that haven’t yet declared themselves closed are expected to do so this week.

The Al🐓amo Drafthouse put an “Iᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚntermission” card up on its website.

“This news – this situation – is devastating,” the 41-the🎀ater circuit based in Austin, Texas, wrote. “When we re-open after this unprecedented and indefinite hiatus, it will be in a dramatically altered world, and in an industry that’s been shaken to its core.”

Over the weekend, ticket sales plunged to their lowest le🐎vels in at least 20 years at US and Canadian theaters. Not since a quiet September weekend in 2000 has weekend box-office rev𝔉enue been so low, according to data firm Comscore.

Universal’s move could be seen as either a w꧋atershed moment for Hollywood or an aberration due to extreme circumstances. With few exceptions, the major studios have guarded the 90-day exclusivity window even as digital newcomers like Netflix and Amazon have challenged it. For the studios, box office still is the primary revenue generato꧙r. Last week, the Motion Picture Association said worldwide ticket sales reached $42.2 billion last year.

The National Association of Theater Owne𝓰rs, the trade group that represents movie exhibitors, declined to comment.

NBCUniversal is prepping its ✱own stre꧅aming service, dubbed Peacock, but it isn’t to launch until July 15. On Sunday, Disney made “Frozen 2” available on its streaming service, Disney+. But that film had already completed its theatrical run. Its digital release didn’t break the traditional 90-day theatrical exclusivity window.

Still, Hollywood’s major upcoming releases aren’t currently heading for the 🥀home; they’re being held for when theate🥂rs reopen.

Paramount Pictures’ “A Quiet Place Part II,” earlier slated for release Friday, has been removed from the schedule. Disnꦍey’s “Mulan” and the James Bond film “No Time to Die” havওe been put off. Universal earlier pushed its latest “Fast and Furious” movie, “F9,” from late May to April of next year.

The boutique sꦜtudio A24 said Monday that it will re-release the acclaimed “๊First Cow” — which opened in limited release March 6 — later this year, since its initial bow has been marred by theater closures.