After lifting 35-year-old ban on cinema, Saudi Arabia to soon screen a first commercial movie in Riyadh

Riyadh, April 5: Saudi Arabia is all set for the screening of first commercial cinema in the capital Riyadh. Notably, Marvel’s superhero movie Black Panther will be the first commercial movie which will hit the Saudi Arabian theatres on April 18 of this year.

 

For screening of the commercial movies, the Saudi Arabian authorities have signed an agreement with Chinese-owned AMC Entertainment which will screen the very first show of commercial cinema ‘Black Panther’ on April 18. However, the Saudi Arabian authorities and AMC Entertainment has also agreed to open up to 40 theatres in next five years.

AMC Entertainment released a press statement on Wednesday that read, “AMC aims to open up to 40 cinemas in 15 cities in the kingdom over the next five years, it said. By 2030, it plans to have between 50 and 100 cinemas in operation in 25 cities.”

“The decision is part of Saudi Arabia’s social and economic reform programme under Vision 2030, spearheaded by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is on an official visit to the United States,” AMC added.

In the year 2017, Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on commercial cinemas that lasted more than three decades. The kingdom closed its cinemas in the early 1980s following a revival of hardline Islamic sentiment, but Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced to lift the cinema ban.

The announcement from Saudi government came as a part of the Vision 2030 social and economic reform program in the Kingdom and also follows the announcement that women in the Kingdom will be allowed to drive come June 2018.

Earlier in the 70s, cinemas were commonplace in Saudi Arabia and while they were mostly perceived as contradictive of Arab cultural norms, they were not banned. In Riyadh, there is a very small industry, producing mostly feature films and documentaries.