Cinemas across the north-east will temporarily close when the new coronavirus restrictions come into force on Friday.
It was hoped that families and film-goers would be able to enjoy their favourite Christmas classics with cinemas opening over the festive period.
However that assumption has now changed following the latest change in coronavirus tiers made by the first minister earlier today.
Vue Cinema in Aberdeen is still preparing for the return of customers as they reopening tomorrow, but that has been cut short to just two days.
Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire moved up to Level 3 of coronavirus restrictions
A spokeswoman said: “The safety of our customers and our teams remains our priority.
Following the recent announcement, from Friday we will be temporarily closing our site in Aberdeen due to its move into level three restrictions.
“We were incredibly excited to invite customers back and we strongly believe in the escapism that is provided in a safe way by the big screen experience.
“However, as per the guidance laid out for level three areas, cinemas must close.
“We look forward to welcoming back our customers and staff in Aberdeen as soon as we are able to do so.
“We will be open on Wednesday and Thursday as planned, and anybody who has bought a ticket for screenings from December 18 onwards will be automatically refunded.”
Arc Cinema in Peterhead has also been forced to close due to the new restrictions coming into play.
A statement from the movie house on Facebook said: “With the news of us going into Level 3 on Friday we will be closing the cinema from Thursday night, anyone with tickets from Friday onwards will be refunded.
“We are still open until Thursday night though so you still have a chance to see the new Wonder Woman 1984 and Super intelligence films.
“We will still be selling our gifts cards from a pop up stall outside the cinema so these can be bought online or at the door and collected at the cinema, we will update with time these can be collected.”
Nicola Sturgeon announced that Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and East Lothian would be placed into Level 3 restrictions due to a rise in Covid-19 cases.
Speaking in Holyrood, the first minister said: “We have been monitoring the situation in both Aberdeen city and Aberdeenshire very closely and have concluded that tougher restrictions do now need to be applied.
“It is our judgement that Level 3 restrictions are necessary to bring the situation in both Aberdeen city and Aberdeenshire back under control.”