FILM fans flocked to the Empire Cinema in Basildon for the opening of the new Imax screen.

The blockbuster Jurassic World was shown on the huge screen and was a complete sellout.

Empire Cinema manager Phil Peirce said the launch couldn’t have gone better and the feedback was great.

He said: “It was even better than we could have imagined.

People were totally stunned by it, some people hadn’t seen an Imax screen before.

“The theatre seats 300, and we were sold out, which is rare for a Thursday. It is the only screen like this around and the nearest ones are Bluewater shopping centre and Greenwich. This means people won’t have to travel to see films in this kind of quality.”

The new screen, which is 66ft wide and 45ft high, opened on Thursday night.

Mr Peirce added: “For the 3D we have two projectors that break up the image and then recreate it, creating a picture much clearer than before.

“The Imax sound gives the viewers the feeling of being at the scene of the film. We have four speakers the size of a Mini Cooper, the sound is not deafening but much better.

Mr Peirce is expecting the Imax to be just as popular in future, because watching a film on the screen is like no other viewing experience.

Echo FILM CRITIC TOM KING WATCHES A T-REX PLAY SECOND FIDDLE

IF the tyrannosaurus in Jurassic World (number four in the franchise) looks a little bit hangdog this time round, it may be because he is getting long in the tooth and knows it.

After all, over 20 years have passed since he first burst on the screen in Jurassic Park, famously snacking on a chartered accountant.

But his crestfallen appearance may also be because he is no longer the biggest attraction. That distinction belongs to the giant bit of hi-tec gauze onto which he is projected. Imax has arrived in Essex.

The film is big, but the screen is bigger. Standing beneath the vast flat surface I felt severely diminished, reduced to a Jurassic flea, and it even makes the T-Rex look like Warwick Davis.

Understandably there was a sense of occasion, even a red carpet feel, to the opening night at the Basildon Empire, although none of the cast – not even the odd starlet - turned up. But then I suppose a brontosaurus could make an awful mess of a red carpet.

Still, the big star of the night, Imax itself, does not disappoint. In particular, the 3-D effects have taken a giant leap forward, and are mighty impressive.

You need to throw away your old 3-D glasses and buy a special Imax pair for £1, but it is worth it. As for the film, like most summer blockbusters, it is essentially a roller-coaster ride – fun, full of scream moments, and wholly predictable. This time round, the CGI dinosaurs completely out-act most of the humans, particularly the rather bloodless female lead Bryse Dallas Howard.

But who cares about the human or lizard luvvies when the Imax screen gives such a fantastic show.

I predict that the Imax is a shoein for the 2015 “best performance by a piece of suspended fabric” Oscar.