Odeon will be taking over from Cineworld as operators of a cinema in Northampton.

The site had been out of action since Cineworld opted to close their branch at Sixfields in Northampton in January, but it will now be re-opened as an Odeon Luxe cinema, with first screenings to take place at the new location from May 26th.

The new site will be rebranded as Odeon’s Luxe model, which uses reclining seats, built-in tables and features 4K high-definition screens.

Renovation works had begun last month after Odeon had picked up the least following the expiration of the previous contract with Cineworld.

In a statement to the BBC, Odeon said, “We are excited to open our newly refurbished cinema in Northampton later in the year and welcome guests through our doors.”

Cineworld’s move to close their Northampton branch saw the closure of a branch that has been operated by the cinema chain since 2005.

The Cineworld company was severely affected by the collapse in cinema attendance induced by the covid-19 pandemic and the consequent inflationary bubble in the early 2020s, which lead to the company experiencing multiple financial problems, entering administration in 2023 and closing several UK branches.

Luton Town maintained their hopes of Championship survival after a 3-1 win over play-off chasers Bristol City at Kenilworth Road.

Thelo Aasgaard, Carlton Morris and Isiah Jones grabbed the goals as Matt Bloomfield’s side followed up their Good Friday win in a six-pointer at Derby by seeing off the side that began the day in 5th place in the Championship.

On an eventful day that saw the Hatters’ fellow relegation rivals Derby, Plymouth and Hull all record wins, Luton remain inside the relegation zone. They are divided from Derby by goal difference, in a tightly clustered bottom end of the Championship where only three points split the bottom four of the table, with Preston, Oxford and Hull all within three points of the bottom three.

Having beaten fellow strugglers Derby in the first part of the Easter double header, Luton faced a tricky test in the form of a visit from Bristol City, who beat Sunderland on Good Friday to maintain their grasp on a play-off position.

Luton began on the front foot against the Robins, with Liam Walsh denied by Max O’Leary before the Bristol City keeper also made the save after Cameron Pring’s clearance rebounded off Aasgaard and flew back towards the away side’s goal.

Nahki Wells saw a low effort drift wide, in perhaps the visitor’s only real opportunity of the first half, while Aasgaard came close for the hosts with a free-kick that cleared the crossbar by a couple of inches.

Within four minutes of the restart, Luton found the game’s opening goal. O’Leary was ruled to have bundled the ball away despite home shouts he had fouled Millenic Alli, but the Hatters remained on the attack and Christ Makosso fed Aasgaard, who drilled a low strike that squirmed under O’Leary and in.

The lead would only be Luton’s for three minutes, however. Teden Mengi’s clearance seemed to have dealt with a dangerous cross, but Bristol City full-back George Tanner sent a crashing volley that beat Thomas Kaminski to equalise.

Seven minutes later, however, Luton found themselves back in front. A corner induced a scramble within the Bristol City box and the ball eventually landed the way of Morris, who hooked home a volley for his first goal of 2025.

Tanner was denied by a flying save by Kaminski, with the same man then walloping the rebound over the top.

Luton responded by scoring a third goal a few moments later. Having won the ball back, Jones was able to fly forward, elude a tackle, break into the box and drilled a low shot into the bottom corner to make it 3-1.

The referee waved away penalty appeals for the visitors after Mengi’s challenge on Robins substitute Sinclair Armstrong, while Kaminski made a good save to keep out George Earthy, but the away side ran out of time to eat into Luton’s lead.

That allowed Luton to pick up a huge three points and maintain form akin to the teams around them after several of their rivals won. Luton face two big games to wrap up their season, starting with a home clash with play-off chasing Coventry City next weekend.

Northampton Town will remain in League One for a third straight season after they beat Shrewsbury Town 4-1 at Sixfields.

Against a Shrews side whose relegation had already been confirmed, Aaron McGowan, a Dara Costelloe double and a further goal by Cameron McGeehan did the business for Kevin Nolan’s side.

John Marquis scored a consolation late on for Shrewsbury, but it wasn’t enough to deny victory for the Cobblers.

With two games of the season remaining, Northampton now sit seven points clear, with defeat for Bristol Rovers meaning the side that occupy the final place in the relegation zone can no longer catch the Cobblers.

Having been defeated by promotion chasing Charlton on Good Friday, the Cobblers chased home comforts against a Shrewsbury side whose relegation to League Two was confirmed on Good Friday.

Northampton started brightly in pursuit of the points, with Mitch Pinnock hitting the side-netting before Cameron McGeehan was denied by away goalkeeper Jamal Blackman.

Shrewsbury’s best opportunity fell to one-time Northampton man Aaron Pierre, who headed wide from a free-kick.

The hosts would take the lead after 26 minutes, as McGowan met Pinnock’s cross and fired a volley into the back of the net.

Just before half-time, Northampton made it 2-0. An error by Blackman ended up leading to the ball falling for Costelloe, who rolled the ball home to give the Cobblers an extended advantage.

The Cobblers scored a third goal 25 minutes after half-time, as McGeehan rolled the loose ball home after Blackman dropped a corner.

Akin Odimayo fed Costelloe to score his second and Northampton’s fourth in the final ten minutes to cap off a fine display of goalscoring by the home side.

Northampton were unable to keep a clean sheet after Marquis scored a late consolation, but it was still victory for Nolan’s side and confirmation they will maintain their third tier status for another season.

Having done the job, Northampton will wrap up their season with a trip to Crawley Town, who themselves remain hopeful of survival after a win over Exeter City, before a finale against Wigan in two weeks time.

MK Dons collected their first win under Paul Warne’s management with a 1-0 win at Crewe Alexandra.

Scott Hogan scored the only goal of the game just before the half-hour mark, after he took advantage of an error by Crewe’s former MK Dons goalkeeper Filip Marschall.

With the Dons able to resist Crewe’s attempts at seeking an equaliser, it saw them pick up a first win in seven outings.

It also means that the Dons were able to confirm they would be staying in the fourth tier for next season, with the combination of their win and Carlisle drawing at Accrington Stanley ending any residual fears of MK Dons being relegated to the National League. With two games to go, the Dons sit 18th and are nine points above the bottom two.

A tight first half saw only a smattering of chances created between play-off chasing Crewe and the Dons, with Crewe’s Kane Hemmings seeing a shot dribble wide.

With 28 minutes on the clock, a decisive moment popped up. Marschall dallied when preparing to clear the ball, and his attempted bounced off the charging Hogan, who duly ran onto the loose ball and passed it home to put MK Dons in front.

Hogan and Jonathan Leko saw attempts blocked as the Dons tried to put daylight between themselves and the home side.

After half-time, Crewe saw Conor Thomas have a strike blocked before Hogan had a strike blocked after being played in by Leko.

Former Crewe loanee Joe White saw a strike bounce just wide before Hogan would see another strike blocked by a covering Crewe defender.

The hosts struggled to create chances but Crewe sub Joel Tabiner nearly found a way through for the Railwaymen when his free-kick bounced off the post.

Visiting sub Danilo Orsi missed an opportunity to seal the deal for the visitors with a late strike that just went wide, but MK Dons were able to Crewe at arms length and in the process take the three points.

Warne’s side will wrap up their season with games against Grimsby and Swindon in their final two assignments of the League Two campaign.