Peter Curiston: Behind project

"I'm very proud to bring it to Odyessy. I'm very proud to bring it to Northern Ireland and I think we really have something of truly European standard."

The first film to open at the centre is Everest.

"Imax is a different product. It's a different experience. A lot of the films are educational. All of them are entertainment.

"Everest is the biggest grossing film of all time. It has lifted more than Titanic, for example. It will probably be around for 20 years. "

A similar Imax venture in Dublin failed, so there are fears about the success of the Belfast project.

But Mr Curistan said: "The irony of it is that the Imax theatre was the biggest visitor attraction in Dublin.

"It had over 250,000 admissions. In many ways we were probably too visionary in Dublin. Also the location was nowhere near the same status as Odyssey.

"I think we have learned from the mistakes in Dublin. Now we have a much better team, we are much better focused and the films are much better than they would have been five years ago when Dublin opened up."

The projector is the size of a small car

Chief projectionist at the centre is Sean Kerr who has worked in local cinema for 27 years.

He said the staff had to undergo weeks of training to get to grips with the new technology.

"It's very, very hi tech actually," he said. "We would have three computers to manage the system.

"The soundtrack is put onto disc into a hard drive, so you have to synchronise the film with the soundtrack which is very, very important.

"It's a totally different concept to what normal film would use."

The Odyssey Centre in Belfast also boasts a 10,000-seat indoor arena - home to the Belfast Giants ice hockey team - and a science centre.

The complex opened its doors last December, transforming what was once a derelict riverside site.