Saudi cinema industry setting new standards in Arab world
Movies made in the kingdom triumph at the box office, outshining foreign productions
Cairo: Saudi movies are doing well at theatres as the kingdom’s cinema industry is flourishing, according to a film critic.
“The presence of the Saudi film at the cinema halls is distinguished,” said Saudi critic Ahmed Al Ayad, noting that a recent Saudi production sold a record 400,000 tickets in one month.
Three Saudi movies are being screened at the same time, raking in high takings and vying strongly with foreign productions, he remarked.
“The Saudi market has got the upper hand over the cinema industry in the Arab world,” he told Rotana Khalijia TV.
He cited the example of Egyptian films made particularly for the Saudi filmgoers, who have displayed varied tastes.
Ticket prices gone down
Al Ayad said the cinema ticket prices in the kingdom have gone down after the Saudi Film Commission last month decided to cut cinema license fees.
In April 2018, Saudi Arabia reopened cinemas for the first time in nearly four decades as part of dramatic changes.
Over the past six years, the number of theatres in the kingdom has reached 66 cinemas with a total of 618 screens and 63,300 seats across 22 cities, the highest in the Arab region, according to Saudi media.
Around 1,900 films, including 45 Saudi movies, have since been screened at these cinemas, grossing a staggering SR3.7 billion. Some 17,600 million tickets were sold last year alone.
Hosting film festivals
Saudi Arabia has recently become a magnet for Arab and foreign filmmakers, with events such as the Red Sea International Film Festival, which debuted in December 2021. Last month, Riyadh hosted the Gulf Cinema Festival.
In February, Saudi Arabia disclosed a plan to set up an investment fund to support filmmaking in the Arab world. Head of the state Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA) Turki Al Alsheikh said the Big Time Fund will be geared towards upgrading the Arab content in producing, distributing and making films featuring leading actors in the Arab world.
GEA will contribute to the envisaged fund as a major sponsor and the Saudi Culture Ministry as a co-sponsor along with a group of specialised entertainment firms, the official said without disclosing its exact capital.
In its first phase, the fund aims to invest in making Saudi, Gulf and other Arab films, Alsheikh said during a visit to Egypt, traditionally dubbed the Hollywood of the Arab world.
The Film Commission last month kicked off in Morocco to show Saudi movies as part of a tour to five countries. Dubbed the “Saudi Film Nights”, the tour will also move on to Australia, China, and India before wrapping up in Mexico next January.