Death of a President will be shown on More4 on Monday

Death of a President, which shows Mr Bush being shot dead, secured a US distribution deal last month.

A third major chain said it was unsure whether to show the mock documentary, which is due to open on 27 October.

The film, which has raised protests from conservatives in the US, will be shown on UK TV channel More4 on Monday.

Support

Regal Entertainment Group, which has more than 6,300 screens in 40 US states, said it would not show the film because of its subject matter.

Spokesman Dick Westerling said: "We do not feel it is appropriate to portray the future assassination of a president, therefore we do not intend to programme this film at any of our theatres."

Mr Westerling said Regal had received "numerous phone calls and e-mails" supporting the company.

Even if the film became a hit in other venues, Regal would stand by its decision, he added.

Cinemark USA, which operates about 2,500 screens in 34 states, told trade newspaper The Hollywood Reporter it would not screen the film.

A spokeswoman for AMC Entertainment, which runs 5,600 screens, told Reuters news agency her company had yet to make a decision.

Archive footage

Richard Abramowitz, consultant for US distributor Newmarket Films, said the film had been booked to be screened in more than 100 venues.

Death of a President, funded by Channel 4, shows Mr Bush being targeted by a sniper during an anti-war rally in Chicago in 2007.

He is confronted by a demonstration when he arrives in the city to deliver a speech to business leaders and is shot as he leaves the venue.

Director Gabriel Range, who also co-wrote the film, uses archive footage of Mr Bush to create the scenes that lead up to the president being shot.

Digital effects are used to superimpose his head onto an actor for the assassination scene.

The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September.