The cinema chain has contacted members of its loyalty scheme about its new weekend-only opening policy which will begin this Friday.

Odeon, which operates 120 cinemas in the UK and Ireland, blamed the lack of big budget films and coronavirus worries dissuading people from going to the cinema.

The move is another blow to the cinema industry after rival Cineworld announced it was shutting all its cinemas in the UK and the US after a number of blockbuster movie releases were postponed due to the pandemic. The decision has put 45,000 jobs at risk.

Odeon says the move to Friday to Sunday opening was made before it was announced that the release of the next James Bond film, No Time To Die, would be delayed until April.

An email to Odeon customers said: “We look forward to reopening full-time when the big blockbusters return.

“But in the meantime, we promise to bring you a great choice of big-screen films to enjoy at the weekends.”