Saudi cinemas sell 657 million riyals in 9 months

Last Updated on October 26, 2024 5:31 am

After being closed for almost three decades, Saudi Arabia reopened cinemas in 2018. After that, the film business market in the country quickly grew. Arab and foreign filmmakers are increasingly interested in this industry. Currently, there are 66 cinemas in the country. Movies are shown on 618 screens in these halls across 22 cities.

The Saudi government has undertaken a comprehensive plan to develop the cultural sector. This includes the film industry. This country, which is well-known for its conservatism, is working to influence the film market around the world. They can be said to be quite successful in that goal.

In the first 9 months of this year, 657 million riyals worth of tickets were sold in the country’s cinemas. The information was confirmed by the Saudi Film Commission. This amount is more than 200 crore taka in Bangladeshi currency!

Gulf News reported, citing the Saudi Film Commission, that 52 films have earned 10.7 million riyals until last week. Last week, 222 thousand tickets were sold in the Arab kingdom. Saudi Arabia is becoming a big market for Hollywood films as well as its own. The film ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’, which failed in Europe and America, is doing well in Saudi Arabia.

Fouad Al Khatib, artistic production director of the production branch of Saudi Arabia’s main exhibition chain, said that they have signed contracts to produce 11 Saudi films. These films will be released in the next two years.