Weekends are usually a busy time for real estate salesmanAndy Tan, but he took the day off to watch action thriller Jason Bourne with his son yesterday.

The 48-year-old was among more than 1,500 Straits Times subscribers and readers treated to a screening of the movie yesterday at Shaw Theatres Lido. The tickets were given away as part of National Day celebrations and to thank subscribers for their support.

For Mr Tan, the weekend before National Day is "a bit of a special occasion" because his 14-year-old son Jerome has a long weekend off classes before celebrations at school in the coming week.

It meant the pair could spend some quality time together.

"It's pretty awesome," he said of the film, and his son is a fan too.

Matt Damon again takes on the role of Bourne in the third film of the franchise directed by Paul Greengrass. It is based on Robert Ludlum's novels about a highly skilled special agent who loses his memory. It tells the tale of Bourne, who now remembers who he really is, trying to uncover truths about his past.

Ten screenings were held in total, beginning between 4pm and 5pm. Movie tickets were given out via a lucky draw conducted on July 25, in which all Straits Times direct subscribers were automatically included.

Another winner, accountant Foo Yew Wei, 53, turned up to watch the movie with her family.

She found out by e-mail that she had won a pair of tickets, and she had seen the previous movies, The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy.

Her family switched from being print subscribers to taking up an all-in-one package around two years ago.

She said: "We made the switch because you can read the news everywhere, and on different devices."