Dubai nears cinema saturation point

Dubai: The UAE, particularly Dubai, is nearly saturated with cinemas, but there are opportunities for more screens in emirates like Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, according to Cameron Mitchell, chief executive of Vox Cinemas.

“The UAE is getting close to saturation in that now there are enough cinemas in the country. There are certain pockets like Sharjah and Abu Dhabi that need more cinemas, but in Dubai, the screens per million population is nearing capacity. So the opportunity for us going forward is to enter new markets in the UAE,” he said.

In 2013, the company opened in Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, and next year, it plans to open in Sharjah.

Mitchell expects 18 million movie tickets to be sold in the UAE this year, and 40 million tickets in the Middle East.

“Demand [for watching films at cinemas] is growing in the UAE,” he said.

The company is investing Dh1 billion in new cinemas in the Middle East until 2018. It will boost the number of screens from 50 in 2013 to around 400 by 2018.

It expects to have 183 screens in the Middle East — specifically the UAE, Oman and Lebanon — by the end of the current year.

“We have other investments after 2018,” Mitchell said. He, however, did not give the investment figure.

By 2020, Vox Cinemas aims to have over 550 screens in up to nine countries.

Besides opening new screens, the company is entering new markets. Next year, it plans to have a presence in Egypt and Qatar, and in 2017, in Bahrain and Kuwait.

The company unveiled a new 24-screen Vox Cinemas in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates on Monday, which features the Middle East’s first IMAX theatre with laser screen, the largest Vox 4DX auditorium in the region, a Theatre by Rhodes and two Vox Kids cinemas with an adjoining party room. A ticket to Vox 4DX is priced Dh130, according to Mitchell.