Majid Al Futtaim, the mall-operator behind Ski Dubai, will open a four-screen multiplex cinema in Saudi Arabia after becoming the second company to obtain a license as part of the kingdom’s modernisation efforts.
Vox Cinemas will invest two billion Saudi riyals ($533 million) to open 600 theatres in the next five years, starting with Riyadh Park Mall in “the coming days,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.
More cinema locations will be announced “in the coming weeks,” MAF added. Theatres currently under design include Majid Al Futtaim’s Mall of Saudi and City Centre Ishbiliyah to open in the “coming years” in Riyadh and the cinema developments will create about 3,000 jobs.
The cinema expansion will bring Majid Al Futtaim’s total investment in the country to 16bn riyals. It’s only rival in the market is US-based AMC Entertainment Holdings, which plans to open as many as 40 cinemas within five years and 60 more by 2030. Both are capitalising on the kingdom’s decision to lift a ban on cinemas after more than three decades. Saudi expects to have 350 theatres by 2030 as it focuses on building its entertainment industry, which is projected to contribute about $24bn to the economy and add more than 30,000 jobs.
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MAF expects to obtain a licence 'soon' to operate cinemas in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s PIF and Six Flags to build theme park in the kingdom
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Saudi Arabia’s 32-year old Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is pushing for social reform and broadening the economy to reduce its reliance on oil to tackle youth unemployment. He visited Hollywood during a recent three-week tour in the US that featured deals ranging from renewable energy to tech.
Majid Al Futtaim’s announcement comes a day after the first movie screening in the kingdom, which showed Walt Disney’s global blockbuster Black Panther, a film about a young king coming to power in the fictional land of Wakanda. AMC opened the first theatre on Wednesday.
Majid Al Futtaim will be exclusive distributor of 20th Century Fox content to cinemas across Saudi Arabia. In 2018, the company is planning to release The Darkest Minds, The Predator and James Cameron’s production Alita Battle Angel, it said.
MAF Ventures, which has a total of 300 screens in the region with only 150 are in its malls, is talking to developers in Saudi Arabia to find locations for its cinemas, Ahmed Ismail, its chief executive told The National on April 15.
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Saudi Arabia ushers in new cinema era with VIP screening of Black Panther
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Saudi men poses for a photograph at an invitation-only screening of Black Panther at the King Abdullah Financial District Theatre, in Riyadh. Fayez Nureldine / AFP Photo -
An actor poses with a replica cinema projector as visitors arrive at an invitation-only screening of Black Panther. Amr Nabil / AP Photo -
Attendance to private screenings this month in Riyadh is by invitation only, with a public opening to follow in May. Amr Nabil / AP Photo -
The screenings mark another milestone under social and economic reforms spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.. Fayez Nureldine / AFP Photo -
A woman poses for photographs at an invitation-only screening of Black Panther. Fayez Nureldine / AFP Photo -
The kingdom banned cinemas in early 1979. However, films have been shown in the kingdom for decades, just not in commercial settings. Fayez Nureldine / AFP Photo -
To serve a population of more than 32 million, most of whom are under the age of 30, authorities plan to set up around 350 cinemas with over 2,500 screens by 2030. Fayez Nureldine / AFP Photo -
Majid Al Futtaim, the conglomerate behind Ski Dubai and Vox Cinema, expects to obtain a licence to operate screens in the kingdom and 'soon'. Amr Nabil / AP Photo -
Amr Nabil / AP Photo
