An updated version of Cats has quietly been released by Universal Pictures, after the film was torn apart by critics.

Reviews for the film were published earlier this week week and were overwhelmingly negative, with The Telegraph giving it zero stars, while it currently has a critics score of 19% on film review site Rotten Tomatoes.

The Hollywood Reporter has now claimed to have seen a memo claiming cinemas will be receiving an updated version of the film with “some improved visual effects”.

HuffPost UK has contacted representatives for the film for comment.

Some critics were shown an unfinished version of Cats earlier this month, while The Hollywood Reporter also pointed out that film director Tom Hooper has said it was a struggle to get the film finished in time for its global release date on Friday.

Tom also said that the reaction to the film’s trailer – which was largely panned for its CGI – led to certain characters being redesigned.

In our review of the film, we said: “There’s little evidence of [these redesigns] in the film itself.

“In the middle of scenes, actors’ faces appear to change positions on their cat characters’ heads, which is a particular issue when they’re in motion. And given that Cats is a dance-led musical film, there are a lot of times when the characters are moving about.” 

Other critics and early viewers have named the characters’ human hands and noses as being among the film’s biggest design issues.

Among Cats’ all-star cast are Dame Judi Dench, Idris Elba, Taylor Swift and Jennifer Hudson, while another of its stars, Jason Derulo, recently hit back after the first reviews were published.

Cats is in cinemas now.