On April 18th, the first cinema to show a movie in Saudi Arabia in 37 years debuted with a special screening for VIPs of the “Black Panther” movie. It was a historic event on several levels and it has the cinema industry very excited about this large new market. In a panel discussion at CinemaCon, executives described Saudi Arabia as a “clean slate” opportunity to build a cinema infrastructure that has never really happened before. (2,000 Projectors Likely in Saudi Arabia)
AMC chief Adam Aron was in Saudi Arabia for the opening which is an AMC theater. Not only was the debut of a movie historic, he noted, but the fact that women were seated next to men in the front row was also a historic statement. “Saudi Arabia is a very conservative country where women don’t drive and there is separation of single males from families and women in many public venues,” said Aron. “We discussed a lot of scenarios about how to divide up the theater to address these social issues, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the integrated seating at the premier.”
“The new Crown Prince is only 32 years old and 70% of the population is under 30,” continued Aron. “He is catering to this demographic by instituting sweeping reforms that are modernizing the Kingdom, including women now being allowed to drive. Saudi Arabia was a progressive Kingdom in the 1960s and 70s, but turned very conservative after that. The Crown Prince wants the Kingdom to continue for another hundred years. It is very exciting opportunity for the Kingdom and the cinema industry.”
Aron said the first theater was opened after just ten weeks of construction as they modified an existing concert hall. It has 624 seats that will be replaced this summer with more typical cinema seating. Four more cinemas will also open soon under the Vox brand, each with about 1000 seats.
The government has said it will issue “less than five licenses to operate cinemas,” said Adam Cripps of 20th Century Fox Distribution. “AMC and Vox have the first two. We expect that ultimately, Saudi Arabia will have 300-350 theaters with and average of 10 screens per theater. But this will take a decade to build out, with maybe half built in five years.”
Duncan Clark from Universal Distribution said that the opening of the Saudi market to cinemas will also encourage a local film industry and create opportunities for location shooting that have not been previously available. “We think a robust local film industry is vital for a robust market.”
“Saudi Arabia is the 20th wealthy economy and has a population of 32 million with exactly one theater, so we are selling out screening immediately,” said Aron. “Price is not an issue when there is so much demand. But, I think ticket prices will rise to $30-$35 dollars, which includes VAT and a 25% government tax.”
Censorship and Issue
The issue of censorship also came up with Cripps noting that “Ferdinand” was currently being reviewed by the Saudi censors. Black Panther only had 40 seconds removed, but all the panelists agreed it will take a little time for the studios to understand how the censor process will work and what the censors are most sensitive to. Saudi Arabia has both censorship and a rating system, which will be better for the studios. China only has a censorship program with a pass/fail and no ratings which is a little tougher to deal with, said the executive. They see the Saudi censor/rating system will be a bit conservative to start but will liberalize a bit over time and stabilize soon allowing for timely distribution of films in the Kingdom.
Ahmed Ismail of Majid Al Futtaim Ventures is the parent company of Vox Cinemas, which has the other license to open theaters in Saudi Arabia. They are building a brand-new cinema, which will be the first multiplex in Saudi Arabia, located at Riyadh Park Mall. The Vox Cinemas Riyadh Park experience will include four screens located within the largest Magic Planet Family Entertainment Centre. Content including animation, family-friendly films and educational movies will be available on four screens including the first IMax screen, and Vox KIDS, the concept designed especially for young movie fans.
Vox Cinemas is investing an additional SAR 2bn to open 600 screens in the next five years in Saudi Arabia. Through its partnership with 20th Century Fox, the distribution arm of Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas will also be exclusively distributing Fox content to all cinemas across Saudi Arabia. In 2018, the company is planning to release anticipated hits including The Darkest Minds, The Predator and the James Cameron produced Alita Battle Angel.
Further cinemas currently under design include Majid Al Futtaim’s Mall of Saudi and City Centre Ishbiliyah, with both locations opening in Riyadh in the coming years, with additional announcements on new locations expected in the coming weeks. – CC
