Cineworld has confirmed it is "considering the temporary closure" of its cinemas across the UK and the US.
However, the cinema giant added it was yet to come to a final decision, and will update staff and customers soon.
Cineworld said in a statement: “We can confirm we are considering the temporary closure of our UK and US cinemas, but a final decision has not yet been reached.
“Once a decision has been made we will update all staff and customers as soon as we can.”
READ MORE: Cineworld 'to shut all UK cinemas' as industry becomes 'unviable'
It comes after The Sunday Times reported the cinema chain had plans to shut all of its UK and Ireland sites - after the pandemic led to temporary closures and the cancellation of major films.
The closure of the 128 theatres across the country will put up to 5,500 jobs at risk, prompting staff to voice their anger at how they have been treated.
One Cineworld staff member, who did not want to be named, said they felt “betrayed”.
They said: “None of us have been told a single thing yet so me and my work colleagues are sort of in panic-mode right now, wondering what’s going to happen to our jobs, especially this close to Christmas.”
The Covid-19 crisis, which caused the closure of screens in March led to a £1.3bn loss for the first half of the year.
And despite Cineworld reopening 561 out of 778 sites worldwide as lockdown restrictions have been eased, it has now had to confirm it is considering closing all branches.
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