SPECTRE has taken over Oxford’s screens, with the 24th instalment of the James Bond series proving a huge hit in the city.

At the Phoenix Picturehouse, in Walton Street, every evening performance of the film has sold out since its release last Monday.

Spectre is showing up to four times a day on three different screens, alternating with historical drama Suffragette and science-fiction comedy drama The Lobster.

General manager David Williams said: “It’s been very, very busy. We get lots of students we wouldn’t perhaps see at that time of the year. We’ve got our regulars. It’s not much different from our usual crowd – there’s just more of them in one small space.”

A week after Spectre’s release, the Phoenix’s sales are 66 per cent higher than last year. The cinema, which usually opens around noon midday and closes at about 11pm, has extended its business hours to allow for one more screening in the morning and one in the evening at 10pm.

The film, starring Daniel Craig, Monica Bellucci and Léa Seydoux, sees Bond battling an international criminal organisation named Spectre, previously featured in the 1971 blockbuster Diamonds Are Forever.

The latest 007 instalment has grossed a record-breaking £40m in the UK in its first week, topping the performance of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, whose 2004 opening generated the previous record of £23.8m.

Shaken & Stirred, an Oxford-based event-planning company that offers James Bond-themed parties among its services featuring lookalike Chris Cox, often sees a surge in enquiries as the season of Christmas parties approaches.

Tom Abram, who owns the business, expects to see an even sharper increase this year. The name of his company, inspired by Mr Bond’s preference for his Martini, may give him a boost online.

He said: “A lot of people will be on Google, putting in ‘shaken not stirred’ and we’re more likely to come up.”

He added: “James Bond is one of the most popular themes out there. He’s such a beloved character.”

Oxfordshire fans may want to look out for a familiar sight while watching Spectre. Blenheim Palace doubles as the Palazzo Cadenza, in Rome, where Bond’s Aston Martin is parked up before he enters the building and gets his first experience of the Spectre group.

The DB10 and one of Mr Bond’s other famous Aston Martins, the DB5 from Goldfinger, will be displayed at the palace on Sunday.