FILM buffs have made a Basildon cinema the busiest in the country... on a Tuesday.

The number of cinemagoers flocking to the Empire Cinema, at the Festival Leisure Retail Park, onaTuesday night has risen 9 per cent on last year – making it the most visited theatre in the country for that day.

It has beat off competition from the likes of Vue, at the two Westfield Shopping Centres in London, and Odeon, at the Trafford Centre, Manchester, and is now looking to create 20 more jobs to cope with the demand predicted in the run-up to Christmas.

Phil Peirce, manager at the Basildon multiplex, said the cinema also offered visitorsavariety of options.

He said: “The UK average for cinema visits is down, but here we have been working to find out what our customers really want.

“We offer experiences such as ballet and theatre performances live streamed on to one of our big screens.

“Cinemas are under pressure from things such as Netflix and internet streaming, but I think there is still a place for the cinema as a night out.”

The 18-screen cinema mainly enjoys success on a Tuesday by selling halfprice tickets for just £4.

In addition to the Empire cinema being ranked number one in the country for the last four weeks on a Tuesday, it regularly finishes in the Top Ten in the UK each week.

This year, the theatre hopes to welcome more than one million customers