Saudi Arabia's first permanent cinema is Hannah Harper Archivescoming.
Following the country's recent lifting of a 35-year-old cinema ban, temporary local theatres popped up with showings of The Emoji Movie(of all films) in January.
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture and Information announced that U.S. chain AMC has won the country's first cinema operating license. Black Pantherwill be the first movie to get a public screening since the ban.
SEE ALSO: Saudi Arabia just lifted its cinema ban, and well, the first movie screened was an interesting choiceAMC, the world's largest movie exhibitor, plans to open the country's first permanent cinema on April 18 in the capital of Riyadh. The kingdom could be home to nearly 350 cinemas, with over 2,500 screens, by 2030.
AMC will be working alongside the government's Development and Investment Entertainment Company, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The cinema push is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's so-called Vision 2030, an ambitious package of social-economic reforms to lessen the conservative kingdom's dependence on oil and return the kingdom to "moderate Islam." This means encouraging domestic spending on entertainment, aiming to increase it from 2.9 percent to 6 percent per household by 2030.
As part of this plan, the kingdom's Ministry of Culture and Information agreed to issue licenses for cinemas on Dec. 11, 2017. Cinemas have been banned in Saudi Arabia since the early 1980s, due to conservative Islamists wanting to discourage any form of entertainment or leisure activity that enables men and women to mingle in public — they were seen as a corrupting influence.
Conservative critics, including the head of Saudi Arabia's religious authority, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Sheikh, are staunchly against the cinema ban lift, calling motion pictures "shameless, immoral, atheistic."
But with Saudi Arabia's population sitting over 32 million, the largest in the Arabian Gulf region, and with the large majority under 30, the country's cinema market is predicted to flourish, estimated to bring in around US$1 billion in annual box office sales.
"The granting of the first license marks the opening of very significant opportunities for exhibitors," said Dr. Awwad Alawwad, Minister of Culture and Information in a press statement. "The Saudi market is very large, with the majority of the population under the age of 30 and eager to watch their favourite films here at home."
"The aim of Saudi Vision 2030 is to improve the quality of life for Saudi families by providing an array of entertainment opportunities. The restoration of cinemas will also help boost the local economy by increasing household spending on entertainment while supporting job creation in the kingdom."
Additional reporting by Gianluca Mezzofiore.
This article has beenupdated with information about Black Panther.
Previous：Bolsonaro Rising
The Arendt Center’s Dark Thinking
That huge new Banksy exhibition? It doesn't have the artist's consent at all
Instagram is rolling out its tool to filter offensive comments to all users
'The Last Guardian' delayed again, but not for too long
Citizen Zuckerberg
Woman's beautiful new dress comes with a rotting mouse skeleton
Donald Trump just gave an unexpected response to Hillary's pneumonia diagnosis
Genius creates iMessage extension to bring more lyrics to your messages
Malign Intervention
Donald Trump just gave an unexpected response to Hillary's pneumonia diagnosis
This Could Revolutionize That
'Magic cake' is taking over the dessert world
AP deletes tweet about Clinton's 'basket of deplorables' comment
Woman wins year of free pizza, donates it to center for homeless youth
The Destructive Character
Woman's beautiful new dress comes with a rotting mouse skeleton
NFL players hold national anthem protests on opening Sunday
Clinton camp reveals pneumonia diagnosis after 9/11 event
What Philly’s DA Win Looked Like from the DJ Booth
Josh Hutcherson is headed to Hulu with new Seth Rogen comedy series
Wikipedia pages briefly vandalized with swastikasPope Francis delivers message on fake news: 'The truth will set you free'How to download everything you've posted on InstagramHow to secure your account after that massive TMashReads Podcast: Can Joe Hill's horror books stand out from his father's works?What is Yik Yak and how to use itEvery rover, ranked by distance traveled on the moon and Mars'Humankind' is messier than 'Civilization' but in a good wayTesla's Autopilot under investigation by the fedsGymnast Aly Raisman took out a fullThat really oily guy from the Olympics is going to compete in the Winter GamesGoogle Pixel 5a launch date and specs revealed in new leakDavid Harbour is going to do the Hopper dance with actual penguinsNow is a great time to catch up with 'Warrior' on HBO Max"Heels" on Starz doesn't pull any punches for its wrestling dramaCES announces 2022 vaccine mandateDylan Farrow expertly calls out Justin Timberlake's hypocrisy by using his own tweetGymnast Mattie Larson said she purposely hurt herself to avoid Larry NassarIt's Fiona the hippo's first birthday, she's eating cake, and I'm crying5 reasons why Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 3 is worth your attention The cancer empathy cards that say more than just 'f**k cancer' Another food delivery bot is coming to a college campus Why local organizers support the Women's March despite controversy A photo of all three Samsung Galaxy S10 models apparently leaked Your next iPhone could be made in India Netflix now lets you share directly to your Instagram Story Shocking images of police shooting Aboriginal man swarm social media Waymo chooses snowy location for factory devoted to self Everyone is making the same joke about the England football manager's resignation Politician Where to watch all of the 2019 Oscar Donald Trump Jr.'s Skittles photo removed from Twitter 'His Dark Materials' author tweets a genuinely useful piece of writing advice 2019 Oscars: Full list of nominations Here's everyone and everything nominated for a 2019 Razzie Award No one needs Spotify's rumored $100 in 'Mortal Kombat 11' is more than just a fighting game: Hands on review Developer breaks 'The Simpsons' down by the numbers Some Netflix subscribers say they'll leave over new pricing Ja Rule seems to think he's the real victim of the Fyre Festival docs
1.4483s , 10130.625 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Hannah Harper Archives】,Miracle Information Network