GREAT news for film fans - cinemas in Swindon are finally reopening this week.

Both Cineworlds at Regent Circus and Shaw Ridge as well as the Empire IMAX in Greenbridge are getting ready to welcome us back to the big screen experience.

Cinemas are allowed to reopen in England from Monday but both chains are taking a little extra time to prepare.

Cineworld is opening on Wednesday May 19 while the Swindon branch of Empire Cinemas opens on Friday May 21.

Precautions are being put in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus similar to those carried out in-between the first and second lockdowns.

These measures include hand sanitising stations, a Test-and-Trace check-in sign, social distancing guidance, having certain seats blocked off to ensure people from different households aren't sat next to each other, arranging staggered screenings to minimise the chance of people from different showings mixing together in the lobby or corridors, and more time spent cleaning screening rooms in-between films.

Customers are encouraged to book tickets in advance, use the e-ticket with a QR code on their phone instead of the paper ticket when they arrive, and pay by card.

But the big question is - what films are actually on?

The multiplexes are likely to show dramas that received a lot of Oscar attention, including Best Picture/Actress in a Lead Role/Director winner Nomadland, Daniel Kaluuya's acclaimed turn as Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah, Riz Ahmed as a drummer who loses his hearing in Sound of Metal, and Minari's tale of a Korean family struggling to fit into their new American home.

For blockbuster thrills, there's the monstrous city-smashing beat-em-up Godzilla Vs Kong and Saw series spin-off sequel Spiral (both playing in IMAX) as well as gory game adaptation Mortal Kombat.

Families can enjoy James Corden and pals causing havoc in Peter Rabbit 2, Disney's latest heroine going on a fantastical adventure in Raya and the Last Dragon, the bee-lightful Maya the Bee 3: The Golden Orb, and classic cartoons getting modern updates with Tom and Jerry: The Movie and Scoob!

It may be almost summer, but films like The Unholy, The Conjuring 3 and Those Who Wish Me Dead are serving up plenty of spooky scares and shocks.

Later this month, Emma Stone stars as Dalmatian-hating Disney villain Cruella De Vill and Emily Blunt tries to survive a silent apocalypse in A Quiet Place Part 2.

Big films on the horizon include Fast and Furious 9, The Suicide Squad, In The Heights, Black Widow, Jungle Cruise, Space Jam 2, No Time To Die, Top Gun: Maverick and Dune, along with smaller indie fare like Anthony Hopkins Alzheimer's drama The Father, Edgar Wright's Last Night In Soho, and Aretha Franklin biopic Respect.

At time of writing, customers can book tickets for films at Empire but Cineworld's booking system is not up and running yet, though it should be by Thursday.