By Kimberly Chin

Cineworld Group PLC joins AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. in refusing to play Universal Pictures films at its theaters, a move made in light of the movie studio's recent decision to experiment with distributing its forthcoming titles in both theaters and digital platforms.

The owner of the Regal Entertainment movie-theater chain said the Comcast Corp.-owned movie studio breached its previously agreed-upon window, which is the period of time in which an exhibitor can play a movie exclusively at its venues.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Universal may be experimenting with its theatrical distribution model given the studio's success with the roll out of "Trolls World Tour" on digital rental platforms like Apple Inc.'s Apple TV.

"Today we make it clear again that we will not be showing movies that fail to respect the windows as it does not make any economic sense for us," Cineworld said.

Cineworld, along with other chains, closed their theaters around March following stay-at-home orders and social-distancing guidelines to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Cineworld's response to Universal's actions follows an open letter Tuesday evening by AMC that criticized the studio for reneging on years of conversations about preserving the exhibitor's right to play the movies exclusively at its venues.

Write to Kimberly Chin at kimberly.chin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2020 15:12 ET (19:12 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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