John Krasinski‘s summer blockbuster A Quiet Place Part II has come under fire for its lack of subtitled screenings.

• READ MORE: ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ review: a gripping horror sequel that’s worth shouting about

The franchise until now had been praised for its representation of deafness. The films star deaf actress Millicent Simmonds, and show her character Regan’s deafness as a major strength.

However a new report by the National Deaf Children’s Society reveals that only 41% of UK cinemas offered subtitled screenings during the show’s opening week.

“Deaf people are just as entitled to enjoy the thrill of the cinema as hearing people, but they’re still not being provided for,” a representative from the charity told Metro. “Half of cinemas didn’t provide any subtitled showings and those that did were unwilling to offer them at convenient times.”

She added: “It’s a sad yet familiar story for millions of deaf people across the UK, where subtitles are now a holy grail instead of something they can rely on.”

In response to the criticism, a spokesperson for Cinema UK told Metro that the dip in subtitled screenings was a result of the pandemic.

“The reality is that building back to where we were on such shows and remaining economically viable will take some time,” they said. “Before the Covid pandemic hit in early 2020, on average there were around 1,500 subtitled screenings per week across the country.”

The spokesperson confirmed that during each of the first two weeks of release of A Quiet Place Part II, there will have been over 500 subtitled screenings of at UK cinemas.

Upon its release, A Quiet Place Part II broke the US box office record in the pandemic era on its opening weekend.

Across its first three days in cinemas, the film generated $48million (£34m) in revenue, making it the biggest three-day haul since the pandemic began.

A third instalment of the franchise is set to be released in 2023.