An independent cinema in Witney is fighting back after customers drifted away to watch movies at a new multiscreen complex.

John Richards has been running the single-screen independent Screen @ the Square cinema at the Corn Exchange for the past 16 years.

But when five-screen Cineworld arrived as part of the Marriotts Walk shopping centre in October, it hit Mr Richards’ trade hard.

Mr Richards says business has picked up a little as he focuses on movies the multiplexes usually ignore.

He said: “We are a small minnow in a very big pond and our numbers definitely dropped when Cineworld opened because they are the third-biggest cinema operator in the country.

“We had a huge dip but trade is starting to pick up again.

“We can’t show 3D blockbusters like Avatar, but films like An Education, which was made for the BBC, we have shown three times because of popular demand. I like to think that we are not in direct competition with Cineworld and, instead of competing, we try to complement what they do.

“We don’t show slasher movies because our audiences don’t want them and we don’t show many 18 certificates, although we are showing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which is an 18. We are not street-cred enough to satisfy the 18- to 26- year-olds – what I call the popcorn market – so we try to satisfy a different audience.

“I wouldn’t describe us as an arthouse cinema but we try to achieve something similar to the Phoenix Cinema in Oxford.”

Mr Richards said the film industry was at a “precarious stage” and is looking for another Mamma Mia! to revive people’s interest in the big screen.

He added: “That was such a great film and ticked all the right boxes for so many people – it gave cinemas a real boost.”