Robins cinema is to get a £22,000 revamp in a bid to bring the audiences back to the town centre cinema.

Midweek prices are also being slashed to as little as 99p for top name films in a move to attract more filmgoers.

The Basildon cinema is now under new management, with Gregory Lynn in the driving seat. He has been transferred from Robins in Camberley, Surrey, to guide the cinema into the millennium, starting with a string of special offers.

From April 12, adults and children can see the latest movie releases for 99p from Monday to Thursday. The offer runs throughout April.

The Town Square cinema has had to face up to stiff competition from the multi-screen UCI on the Festival Leisure Park which opened in July last year.

But it has amazingly turned the tables on expected losses after the arrival of the international chain - and is now turning people away at certain times!

Mr Lynn said: "We have lost some of our adult audiences but we are gradually putting things right. We are now matching last year's figures."

Robins thrives at the weekend but during the week it struggles to fill the auditoriums, which is why it has introduced the new prices.

Mr Lynn added: "We are doing the special offer to encourage families. It can be difficult for a whole family to afford to go to the cinema so we are trying to make it easier."

It is the children's films that are proving the most popular at Robins. Staff had to turn customers away from weekend showings of A Bug's Life and the Easter holiday has helped the Rugrats Movie attract crowds of youngsters.

The budget for the refurbishment will cover new carpets throughout and new curtains. Later on it is hoped there will be new seats.

The updating programme will begin after the schools start back but a mini-arcade has already been added to the foyer.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.