Italian
Regal Cinemas, one of the world’s largest movie theater chains, has secured new financing to restructure a portion of its debt.
The exhibition company has arranged a $1.9 billion loan that extends maturity dates to as far out as Dec. 1, 2031. The refinancing comes after a record-breaking Thanksgiving at the box office, though overall North American revenues remain down by 6.4% from 2023 and 24% from pre-pandemic times.
Regal Cineworld generated over $1 billion in total revenue in the third quarter of the year, the company announced in a press release. The company did not clarify how those returns compared to prior quarters. Disney’s “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine,” as well as Universal’s “Twisters” and “Despicable Me 4,” were among the biggest Q3 earners for the circuit.
“The overwhelmingly positive market reception for this transaction is a signal of the momentum we are seeing in our business,” said Eduardo Acuna, CEO at Regal Cineworld. “In Q3, Regal Cineworld welcomed over 49 million guests to our theatres and generated total revenue of over $1 billion dollars with record-high levels of spend per person on concessions. With the refinancing transaction, we will save $60 million per year in interest expense, which puts our successful restructuring squarely in the past.”
Popular on Variety Barclays, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Texas Capital served as arrangers and bookrunners for the loan.
Cineworld, the parent company of Regal Cinemas, filed for bankruptcy in September 2022 as global theater chains were struggling to rebound from prolonged COVID-related closures and a lack of new releases. Acuna, a former Cinépolis executive, was hired in July 2023 to replace the former chief executive Mooky Greidinger. Later that month, Cineworld emerged from Chapter 11 after reducing its debt levels.
