The cinema with the biggest screen in the State, the Sheridan IMAX Theatre in Parnell Street, has closed down after just over two years in operation. Staff said last night they were surprised at the closure as they had been told only on Friday night not to come to work today.
Fifteen people have lost their jobs as a result, three managers, four projectionists and eight floor staff.
One member of the Sheridan Group, which owns the IMAX cinema, said UGC Cinemas, beside the IMAX in Parnell Street, had expressed an interest in expanding into the IMAX area.
However, one IMAX theatre manager, Ms Veronica Prendergast, said earlier this year that the cinema was closing early three evenings a week because of low attendance. She said some staff decided to leave then and were not replaced.
Ms Prendergast said some of the films shown at the IMAX theatre had been running for a long time.
"If T-Rex had run until Christmas it would have been on two years. We needed something new," she said. "We all thought business was bad, but if we got a good film it might pick up."
Two food outlets had closed in the IMAX complex, including Strike Four last week and Flix Restaurant some months ago.
Last month the cinema announced a move away from documentary and wildlife subjects to target the family market. Cyberworld 3D, an animated film, was to be shown this month.
Ms Prendergast said staff had not been told why the theatre was closing down. "Out of the blue this has come. I've never worked in a place like this where you're told your job is obsolete on Monday morning," she said.
The Sheridan Group is to open an IMAX cinema in Belfast soon.