Despite its long gestation, Emirati horror film Djinn is paving the way for local cinema, with its opening weekend takings breaking the Dh1 million barrier. After a two year delay, the film — a collaboration between Abu Dhabi’s Image Nation and American horror director Tobe Hooper — released in cinemas on Halloween.
“Since its release on October 31, Djinn has set the record for the best performing Emirati film ever in an opening weekend,” said Kifah Graizi, regional manager at the distributor Empire International Gulf LLC in a press release.
Chairman of Abu Dhabi production company Image Nation, Mohammad Al Mubarak, said: “The number of people going to the cinema to watch our film has in some ways taken us by surprise as these statistics are pretty rare in UAE cinema.”
Emirati film “City of Life”, which was released in 2009, came closest to Djinn’s takings, making Dh746,305 on its opening weekend, while the 2011 Image Nation release “Sea Shadow” took in Dh293,765.
“We want to thank everyone who has gone out to see Djinn as it is a big step forward for film making in the country.”
