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UAE company to open 600 cinema screens in Saudi

April 19, 2018 at 3:48 pm

Vox Cinemas, owned by Dubai’s Majid Al Futtaim, said today that it had received a licence to operate cinemas in Saudi Arabia and would open a four-screen multiplex theatre in Riyadh “in the coming days”.

Saudi Arabia launched its first cinema screening last night airing the record breaking Hollywood Blockbuster “Black Panther” in a cinema in Riyadh, ending a more than three-decade long ban on commercial cinemas.

Public viewings are expected to begin on Friday.

Authorities plan to set up around 350 cinemas with over 2,500 screens by 2030, which they hope will attract nearly $1 billion in annual ticket sales.

Vox said in a statement it was investing 2 billion riyals ($533 million) in Saudi Arabia to open 600 screens over the next five years, starting at Riyadh Park Mall which will host the Kingdom’s first IMAX screen.

Other cinemas currently under design include Majid Al Futtaim’s Mall of Saudi and City Centre Ishbiliyah. Both locations are set to open in Riyadh in the coming years.

Read: International companies compete for cinema market in Saudi Arabia