THE magic of the movies is casting its spell over Blackburn with cinemagoers flocking to the town's newest cinema complex.

And there are plans to screen World Cup football matches and the Oscars at the 10-screen Vue multiplex which opened in November.

Marketing manager Stuart Shepherd said: "The response has been fantastic. In terms of bums on seats we have had around 84,000 customers which has surprised us. This is definitely a cinema going area."

In just 10 weeks moviegoers have chomped their way through 13,000 buckets of popcorn and slurped 14,000 soft drinks.

"For some reason coffee is also extremely popular in Blackburn," said Mr Shepherd.

This week the cinema will be one of the first in the country to introduce a digital projector into one of its screens showing previews of the children's animation Chicken Little.

"This is the next step for cinemas," said Mr Shepherd. "It is a bit like the difference between video and DVD, the quality is fantastic"

The digital age may also allow the cinema to introduce some very special screenings.

"We are looking to see if we can get a digital licence to broadcast the Oscars ceremony live from LA in March," he said.

He also revealed that there are plans to screen England's World Cup matches in the summer live from Germany. "It would be a great atmosphere if we can do it," said Mr Shepherd.

The cinema is also working with Blackburn with Darwen Council to see if it can host an Asian film festival in March or April as part of the C-21 arts project and on Valentine's Day a special screening of the classic film Brief Encounter is planned.

The most watched film at the complex has been Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the first movie to be screened there.