Saudi Arabia to end 35-year cinema ban with Black Panther
AMC to open inaugural location on April 18; up to 40 theatres over next 5 years
Movie theatres will not be segregated by gender like most other public places in the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom and the first screening will be Marvel's superhero movie Black Panther, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
According to industry outlet Hollywood Reporter, Black Panther will swiftly be followed by Avengers: Infinity War, which will debut in Riyadh on April 26.
Saudi Arabia had some cinemas in the 1970s but its powerful clerics closed them, reflecting rising Islamist influence throughout the Arab region at the time.
In 2017, the government said it would lift the ban as part of ambitious economic and social reforms pushed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
He is currently touring the United States seeking investments to help broaden the economy and lessen its dependence on oil.
Saudi Arabians are avid consumers of Western media and culture. Despite the cinema ban, Hollywood films and recent television series are widely watched at home and discussed.
Leather seats, marble bathrooms
AMC's first cinema will be located in the King Abdullah Financial District in a building originally intended to be a symphony concert hall, AMC Chief Executive Adam Aron said in an interview.
The main theatre will have about 500 leather seats, orchestra and balcony levels and marble bathrooms, he said. Three more screens will be added by mid-summer.
We think it's going to be the prettiest movie theatre in the world.- Adam Aron, AMC chief executive
"We think it's going to be the prettiest movie theatre in the world," Aron said. "It's a dramatic building."
To serve a population of more than 32 million, most of whom are under the age of 30, Saudi Arabia wants to set up around 350 cinemas with over 2,500 screens by 2030, which it hopes will attract nearly $1 billion US in annual ticket sales.
"The restoration of cinemas will ... help boost the local economy by increasing household spending on entertainment while supporting job creation in the Kingdom," Culture and Information Minister Awwad Alawwad said in a statement.
AMC is partnering with the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia's main sovereign wealth fund.
A handful of other theatre operators are ready to build in Saudi Arabia if they win clearance, John Fithian, president of the U.S.-based National Association of Theatre Owners, told reporters.
Most Hollywood films expected to screen
Fithian said he met government officials in Riyadh in December to work out issues such as what type of material would be permitted on movie screens. He said he believes most Hollywood movies will be allowed, though some will require editing.
AMC's Aron said he expects the same versions of films shown in Dubai or Kuwait will be suitable for Saudi Arabia.
"Hollywood has long ago dealt with the sensitivities of the Middle East and have adjusted film product accordingly," he said.
"Major Hollywood studios are showing films all over the Middle East."
Separately, Six Flags Entertainment said it planned to develop a theme park in Riyadh with PIF. Cirque du Soleil will stage its first performance in the country on Sept. 23, according to a statement from the General Entertainment Authority.
The GEA also said it reached a deal for other live shows such as Disney on Ice.