A DATE has been set for the final film showing at York's Reel Cinema.

As previously reported, bosses at the cinema in Blossom Street announced it would be converted into an Everyman theatre - the upmarket cinema chain’s latest venue, following the Leeds Trinity and Harrogate cinemas.

The Grade II-listed former Odeon will close its doors under its current name next Thursday, and the last film to be shown under the Reel roof will be horror sequel Annabelle: Creation, which starts at 8.40pm.

Part of The Conjuring horror saga, Annabelle: Creation is the story of a possessed doll which terrorises a nun and children from a local orphanage.

The film will jointly close the Reel next week, alongside action comedy The Hitman’s Bodyguard, War for the Planet of the Apes, and cult fantasy The Dark Tower and Atomic Blonde.

A sign has been placed in the window of the foyer with a message from the staff, thanking customers for visiting over the years.

It said: “We sincerely appreciate your kind support over the years.

"We have thoroughly enjoyed serving you, seeing our local community grow and bringing you sooo many fantastic movies.

“Please come and join us once again before we close our doors.”

Staff at Reel said they could not comment on whether there were any special events planned for the closing night of the cinema, or whether they would be kept on to work at the Everyman.

Owners confirmed last month it had been sold to Everyman for an undisclosed sum, and would close for up to three months to allow a complete overhaul of the building.

Reel boss Kailash Suri has previously spoken about his choice to sell the historic site, which was the subject of a campaign backed by 13,000 readers of The Press to save the Odeon.

Mr Suri said the sale was “a unique opportunity for us to realise some value in our existing estate to be able to invest across other sites”. He said: “The investment Everyman will bring to this building will be terrific for local customers.”

Planning applications show the foyer will be renovated and reorganised, a false ceiling in the first floor lobby will be removed, and one of the chain’s Spielburger restaurants will be installed.

The new cinema should open by the end of the year and will have five screens, but will have seats replaced with fewer, larger, more comfortable sofa-style seats.