An Odeon cinema in Harrogate has told a disabled boy that they couldn’t accommodate his wheelchair for any of its nine weekend screenings of Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything – including ones on national Disabled Access Day.

His mother Kelly told the Mirror: “He said to me the film was supposed to inspire people but how can somebody in a ­wheelchair be inspired if they can’t see it? I cried when he said that.” The boy, 12-year-old Joe France, said that he was “disappointed”, as “Stephen Hawking is one of my top three heroes. I thought it was going to be a very special day.”

The cinema apologised, and has now moved the film to a disabled-friendly screen and offered the pair free tickets. Odeon has since released a statement, writing:

On the weekend of the 17th – 18th January, newer release films American Sniper, Into the Woods and Taken 3 were shown in the screens with access for people with disabilities, to ensure a variety of films are on offer. Unfortunately, this wasn’t communicated to the guest clearly and we apologise for the frustration this caused. We have invited them back to see The Theory of Everything as guests of the cinema, and they have assured us they are satisfied with how the matter was concluded.

The film tells the life story of Stephen Hawking, from his early breakthroughs at Cambridge University to his hugely popular dissections of astrophysics – all while he is physically debilitated by motor neurone disease.

As its producer Eric Fellner told The Guardian, The Theory of Everything is “one of those rare times where it’s a conflation of three factors: we’re pleased with the film, the critics love it, and it’s a success with the real audience.” As well as topping the box office chart in the UK on release, it has also notched up 10 Bafta nominations, four Oscar nominations, and a Golden Globe for Eddie Redmayne’s lead performance as Hawking.