Mooky Greidinger, chief executive of Regal parent Cineworld, of the world’s two biggest chains and currently in the process of emerging from bankruptcy, made an appearance on the Cinemacon stage today saluting Regal employees and giving a shout-out to Lionsgate and Hunger Games.
At the last studio presentation of the week, Lionsgate rolled out the first trailer of The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes, a prequel that’s the latest in the franchise.
Exhibitors have long served as distributors in smaller territories, Greidinger noted, as Cineworld has done with Lionsgate films in Israel and Eastern Europe –including The Hunger Games.
“About 12 years ago, I got a call from our manger of distribution and she says to me, I just got off the phone with Lionsgate” and the studio had a new project, three movies based on the book series by Suzanne Collins. He’d never heard of them. “I said, ‘I trust Joe [Drake].’ I really have a big history with him. But who knowns if people have read the book in Israel? She went out, bought the book and said she couldn’t put it down.” Drake is currently chair of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group.
Greidinger also thanked those who run movie theaters day to day, from managers on down. “If the teams greeting the customers are not friendly and are not taking care of any issues that come up that can really ruin the experience. I want to salute the team at every cinema in the world, not just the United States. And especially our team, the Regal manager team. I give you a big shout-out.”
Cineworld filed for Chapter 11 last fall. It recently filed its restructuring plan with U.S. bankruptcy court in the Southern District of Texas, supported by a majority of debt holders, which it hopes will be approved by the judge and allow it to emerge this summer. It’s not clear Greidinger will remain at the helm of the giant chain, which filed for Chapter 11 after Covid, highly indebted, with no cash cushion and a box office slow to recover. The restructuring plan calls for the company to raise $2.6 billion, including a senior secured credit facility of $1.46 billion and issuing new common stock for $800 million.