AUDIENCES will finally flock to Bolton's new town centre cinema for the first time today.

Ahead of the opening of The Light Cinema, The Bolton News was given an exclusive tour around the new centre, which marks the latest step forward in a £20 million project to redevelop the Market Place Shopping Centre.

Film fans are greeted in the foyer by giant murals of famous film stars – such as Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt – and X-wing and TIE fighters from Star Wars soaring overhead.

Visitors who make their way to the glamorous new surroundings on the top floor of the shopping centre can catch showings of films including The Girl on the Train, Deepwater Horizon, and Bridget Jones's Baby.

The first screening held will be the Tim Burton movie, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, which is being shown at 4.10pm today.

There are more than 1,200 seats across the nine screens at the cinema, which bosses say prides itself on its levels of comfort and hospitality.

All of the screens are fully licensed for alcohol, so customers can enjoy a drink purchased at the foyer bar – which overlooks the shopping centre – while watching the latest releases.

The cinema's manager, Jamie Atherton, said: "All of our cinemas are a bit different. They don't look identical, they are tailored to the community they are in.

"There are no extra hidden charges for 3D or for booking online. Those are the kind of things that really annoy people about cinemas sometimes, they can feel like they are having the wool pulled over their eyes.

"Part of our ethos is about treating audiences with respect and we pride ourselves on our hospitality.

"We have worked hard to get the kind of positive reputation that we have at our other cinemas across the country.

"Going to the cinema should be a real experience for people, and I think that has been lost for some viewers recently."

The grand opening of the new cinema will be held on October 20, with a special VIP event including a screening of the Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, which is being shown at the same time as the film's London premiere.

The cinema has also opened just in time for a series of major blockbusters in the run-up to Christmas, such as Doctor Strange, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Mr Atherton added: "Our screens are tailored to different kinds of audiences and different kinds of films.

"And one of the other good things is that I, as the manager, can influence programming locally. It isn't dictated at a national level, so if there is a real demand for a certain film in Bolton then there is a good chance we can show it.

"It is a really exciting line up of films to open the cinema with."

It was first hoped that the cinema would be completed by the end of 2015, but the opening date had to be put back substantially after builders encountered a number of problems posed by building on top of an active shopping centre.

Market Place manager Nikki Wilson-Cook said: "I can hardly put my excitement into words because this has been a long time coming.

"I'm absolutely delighted and am really looking to being there when it opens at 4pm."