THE big screen is finally coming to Didcot this week, as the town's new £4.5m cinema prepares to show Spring blockbuster Spider-Man 3 as its first film.

The doors of the Cineworld multiplex in the Orchard Shopping Centre will open to members of the public on Friday, May 4, with first screenings at 10.45am.

Other films shown throughout the day will include action thriller Next starring Nicholas Cage, an adaptation of Somerset Maugham's classic love story The Painted Veil, Chinese drama The Curse of the Golden Flower and Disney fantasy Bridge to Tera- bithia.

Schoolchildren, competition winners, local businesses and Didcot VIPs will attend exclusive previews and a special ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, May 1 in the run-up to the official opening.

Cinema manager Tanya O'Neill said: "Everything's going according to plan at the moment. In fact, we are still a bit ahead of schedule.

"We are so excited about it - everyone just wants it to open now."

Several special screenings a week will bring Didcot more than just the current blockbuster films.

Children will have a choice of spending £1 on either Happy Feet or Arthur and the Invisibles at the first Saturday Kids' Club on May 5.

Monday Classic screenings will return popular films to the big screen for one day only. The cinema has chosen Helen Mirren in The Queen for the first screening on May 7.

The cinema boasts a state-of-the-art digital screen, one of only 70 owned by Cineworld, which means the projectionists do not have to use film reels.

Projectionist Steve Coad said: "The viewers shouldn't notice the difference with a digital screen, but it makes it a lot easier for us.

"I'm amazed that people haven't had a cinema for so long.

"This is going to be really good for local people.

"It's going to be a massive year for film. I'm very excited about Pirates of the Caribbean 3."

Didcot last had a cinema almost 25 years ago, but the New Coronet Cinema in Broadway was turned into a bingo hall in the early 1980s.

The Cineworld forms part of South Oxfordshire District Council's ongoing town centre redevelopment, which includes the Orchard Centre, town square and arts centre.