A NEW IMAX cinema is coming to Basildon sooner than expected after Empire Cinemas announced it would be ready to screen the new Jurassic Park film in June.

Empire Cinemas, based at the Festival Leisure Park, will show Jurassic World on the weekend of June 11, far earlier than original predictions that it would be open by the end of the year.

It will be the first Imax cinema in Essex, with moviegoers previously having to travel to London or Bluewater, in Kent, to find one. It also means the muchanticipated new Star Wars film is also likely to be on Imax when it is released in December.

Phil Peirce, cinema manager, said: “Opening an Imax at the Empire will be great for customers as they will now no longer need to travel further afield for the Imax experience.”

Imax screens are larger than conventional cinema screens and show images in greater resolution.

It is another major development taking place on the Festival Leisure Park, with new restaurants replacing former nightclubs, and a new children’s play area being constructed as the entertainment venue reaches out to families rather than clubbers.

Matthew Chambers, centre manager at the Festival Leisure Park, said: “It is very exciting Empire Cinemas has decided to invest in an Imax screen.

“Watching big blockbuster films on Imax will be a fantastic experience.”

The Imax film format, an acronym for image maximum, was created in Canada.

Films are often screened in 3D and the screens are curved to fully immerse the audience in the action.

Empire is also opening new Imax screens in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, and in Birmingham.

Jurassic World is the fourth film in the franchise and is set 22 years after the “incident” which shut the first Jurassic Park.