CINEWORLD in Time Square is beginning to take shape ahead of its opening on December 11.

The Warrington Guardian was invited on a tour of the 13-screen cinema today, Thursday, to see how the site is developing and for a first look at the main attraction, the Superscreen.

The 16.2m by 8.9m laser projection screen features multidimensional sound powered by 32 Dolby Atmos speakers on the walls and ceiling as well as reclining seats and extra legroom.

Jumanji: The Next Level will be the first film on in the Superscreen before Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Shaun Jones, vice president of operations and company director at Cineworld, said: "We have a wall-to-wall screen and the largest screen we could possibly fit in and we’re using the latest laser projection technology.

Warrington Guardian:

"We’ve got amazing visuals because of the angle of the auditorium so there’s never any chance of anyone’s head getting in the way. Plus we have Dolby Atmos in it as well so the sound and speaker system we use in the Superscreen is just incredible. This is our first cinema to have that.

"We have speakers in the walls and embedded into the ceiling. It’s a truly special experience and if you’re going to watch a big film like Star Wars that’s where the Superscreen comes to life."

Work is ongoing at the cinema with up to 100 workers on the site at any one time. It is Cineworld's 101st cinema with another launch happening in York before the end of the year.

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Shaun added: "It has taken a number of years. We have been looking at Warrington for a long time but we were waiting for the right development that was going to improve the whole experience.

"It’s not just about the cinema but the restaurants and everything that bring a place to life.

"So when the Time Square development came up we were absolutely delighted to be a part of it. We’re looking at town centres to find where the opportunities are and this was a perfect one for us."

Warrington Guardian:

It will be Warrington's first town centre cinema since the Buttermarket Street Odeon closed in 1994.

Shaun, whose favourite film is Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, said: "The feedback so far has been terrific, really overwhelming actually.

"People have been delighted to see something new coming in and our Warrington's general manager Sonia Trayford has recruited 70 people from the area to work in the cinema."

Shaun also admitted that cinemas have recently had to up their game to compete with home entertainment and streaming giants like Netflix.

He said: "Cinema has developed immensely, certainly over the past five to 10 years. It’s not just the technological aspects, it’s the service standards.

"We’ve put a lot of thought and effort into the whole experience. You are competing against things like Netflix and Amazon but there’s a very clear market.

"People want an enjoyable experience where they can get out of the house and make a full night of it."

Warrington Guardian:

Sonia, who previously worked in Cineworld Bolton and has been with the company for 20 years, added: "It’s the environment you get – that atmosphere and shared experience. My children love the cinema too – my son is a huge fan of Godzilla and and my daughter likes things like Frozen."

Shaun knows a thing or two about the magic of cinema after working his way up from being an unpaid apprentice in the projection room to holding one of Cineworld's top jobs. The first film he watched on the big screen was ET in Rhyl, North Wales, where he grew up.

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He said: "It was seeing the faces of people coming out of the cinema when they’d watched a big film that did it for me – seeing their faces light up.

"I remember constantly pestering the manager for a job so I worked there for nothing to start with as a projectionist. I was just 14 then. It’s one of those things that gets in your blood. Seeing the projection room of a cinema for the first time was magical for me.

"It’s quite a special experience really and my kids have all grown up with cinema from a very early age. When I was general manager of a cinema my daughter used to leg it into the marketing cupboard whenever she was there to see what toys or dolls or posters she could find."

Warrington Guardian:

Shaun also wants Cineworld Warrington to be a community-led venue.

He added: "We do a lot of community stuff with schools. We get involved with things like film clubs and supporting local films.

"We see the cinema as the heart of the community and that’s what I like about our Warrington cinema – it’s right in the town centre. We’re looking forward to getting feedback on what we can do for people here."

The cinema will also feature a Starbucks coffee shop and Baskin Robbins ice cream counter and offer the likes of a membership scheme called Cineworld Unlimited for regular cinema goers and £2.50 kids' screenings on Saturdays, Sundays and school holidays.