Saudi Arabia's First Movie Theater Since the 1980s Opens With Black Panther and Popcorn

Riyadh, MINA — Saudi Minister of Culture and Information and Chairman of the General Authority for Audiovisual Media Dr. Awad bin Saleh Al-Awad opened on Wednesday the first cinema in the Kingdom in the presence of prominent local, regional and international media figures.

“We are all happy on this historic day as it is witnessing the screening of the first cinema film in the Kingdom, in a complex equipped with all the techniques and equipment that provide pleasure for the family,” the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted him as saying at the opening ceremony.

“What is achieved today is the result of a joint effort thanks to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Citizens and expatriates will see more showrooms that offer new entertainment options in all regions of the Kingdom,” Al-Awad said.

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“This is a true beginning for the development of the entertainment sector in general and the film industry in particular. It is not only a leisure initiative; it is an economic stimulus and a catalyst for growth and diversity of economy.

“Cinema in the Kingdom will be a full-fledged industry with rich content and strong production, supported by distinguished cadres, huge potentials and a broad public.

“The Kingdom will enter the international film market, thanks to the positive implications, including cultural, artistic and developmental factors provided by vision 2030,” he went on.

The real beginning

The Minister hailed this event as a real beginning of the development of the entertainment sector in general and the film industry in particular.

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For his part, Rida Bin Mohammed Al Haidar, CEO of the Audiovisual Media Authority said that the film sector will be an important contributor to the objectives of the National Transformation Program and the ambitious vision of the Kingdom by establishing a Saudi media environment capable of developing the industry in the media.

Al-Haidar said that the Authority is working to organize and develop the media sector in the Kingdom to become a strategic and investment tributary of the national economy, in addition to rehabilitating and supporting the local Saudi environment and presenting it to the world.

In the 600-seat auditorium, a special screening of Black Panther, one of Hollywood’s most famous films, produced 2018.

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Three more film screens are scheduled to be inaugurated in the third quarter of 2018 at the King Abdullah Financial Center, a move that reflects the start of the partnership, which is expected to see the opening of 40 AMC cinemas across the Kingdom over the next five years. (T/RS5/RS10

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)