IT spans the length of two double decker buses and will be the new big attraction for Bournemouth film-goers.

The object being carried through the Lower Gardens in the picture above is the iSense screen, bound for the new Odeon multiplex.

It measures 16.9m by 7.19m (55ft by 23ft) and will be used to project 4K digital images consisting of almost nine million pixels.

Odeon will expect it to be considerably more popular than the last big screen installed in the town. That was the Imax screen – measuring a huge 19m by 25m (62ft by 82ft) – which was the centrepiece of the ill-fated seafront cinema.

The 10-screen Odeon opens at BH2, the new leisure complex on Exeter Road, on Friday, February 10.

The existing Odeon, which has been entertaining film lovers at Westover Road since 1929, will close the previous afternoon.

Andy Edge, commercial director for Odeon in the UK and Ireland, said: “This cinema is our most advanced yet and is a flagship site for us in the UK.

“The iSense screen will deliver the highest quality big screen experience, with a high definition screen up to four times the resolution of a standard screen and Dolby Atmos sound technology bringing the latest blockbusters bursting to life.”

The iSense auditorium will feature the Dolby Atmos sound system, using 56 individually controlled speakers. It will seat an audience of 340.

Odeon says the screen sits on a curved screen frame to ensure light uniformity across the image.

Cinema-goers will approach the auditorium through a special iSense corridor, featuring a 10-metre curved screen. It shows bespoke "immersive" content designed to create anticipation and capture the spirit of the film.

Other attractions in the Odeon multiplex will include a special kids screen with soft play area, reclining seats in eight of the 10 screens and a hot food menu of pizza and antipasti “planks”. There will be a full Costa coffee shop on the site.

Bournemouth’s biggest ever movie screen was installed at the Imax, which opened in the Waterfront complex in 2002. But the cinema was a commercial flop and closed in 2005, never to reopen.

Although installing the Imax screen was a lengthy and painstaking process, it is believed the screen was slashed to extract the speakers behind it before the building was demolished in 2013.