EVERYTHING has got bigger and better for audiences at Bradford's new £780,000 IMAX Cinema - even the seats.

Yesterday marked the re-opening of the cinema at the National Media with its new screen and digital projection system which means film fans will be able to enjoy all the latest blockbuster releases.

Until the update, the cinema was restricted in what films it screened because it still worked off old-style IMAX reels and 70ml film, when it opened in the city in 1983 it was the first in Europe.

To celebrate the new system, the cinema has lined up a festival of summer block busters which will run over the next two weeks including Jurassic World and Mad Max: Fury Road.

The upgrade, which has taken about eight weeks, was funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and included funds to bring in improved seats with more leg room.

Even the standard seats have more knee-room and there are three rows of premium seats right in the middle of the auditorium.

The museum's marketing manager Roxy van der Post says excitement about the re-opening has been mounting.

"People have been getting incredibly excited about it. They have been waiting for weeks, asking to have a sneaky look and take pictures. It means the Bradford audience are going to get everything - blockbusters, comfier seats - the whole experience is going to be bigger and better."

She said there will be no better place to experience this year's most spectacular films, including Everest, the new James Bond movie Spectre and Star Wars; Episode VII - The Force Awakens.

The IMAX festival, which runs until September 17, will also will feature a range of films for all ages including Ant-Man, Pixels, Inside Out and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

The new 60ft by 48ft screen had to be lifted into the building through the roof by a crane - even though it is marginally narrower than the one it replaces, the Bradford Imax screen is still the biggest in Yorkshire.

Imax projectionist Duncan McGregor, who has worked in the projection room at the cinema for 26 years, said its Pictureville cinema in the same building already had the new digital technology so he had good hands-on knowledge of the system before, making sure everything is carefully aligned to give the best big-screen experience possible.

"The audience can expect a totally immersive experience," he said, thanks to the new super-sized screen and digital system that will produce mind-blowing images and wrap-around sound.

One of the films coming up in Imax 3D from October 2 is The Walk charting the story of tightrope artist Phillipe Petit's daredevil and illegal journey across a wire suspended between the World Trade Centre's Twin Towers in 1974.

"That one certainly won't be for the faint-hearted!" said Ms van der Post.