Saudi Film Commission has licensed 56 theatres with 518 screens in 20 cities since its launch in April 2018.
Saudi Arabia’s cinema box office sales have exceeded 30.8m tickets over the past four years, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Since its launch in April 2018, the Saudi Film Commission has licensed 56 theatres with 518 screens in 20 cities, in which 1,144 films were shown, including 22 Saudi films, with the ticket sales amounting to 30,860,956 films in 22 languages from 38 countries.
The cinema sector also contributed to the employment of 4,439 young Saudi citizens of both genders, within the framework of the commission’s endeavour to increase the size of the media market, provide an appropriate environment that will diversify economic sources of income, and create thousands of jobs for Saudi youth, to achieve the goals of Vision 2030 in making the media a strategic tributary of the economy and one of the sectors that enhance the Kingdom’s competitiveness.
“We estimate the Kingdom’s cinema box office market could be $950m in 2030. With non-admission (F&B / concessions and advertising) typically comprising 35% of overall revenue, the cinema industry has the potential to generate total revenue of $1.5bn in 2030 and develop into a lucrative revenue stream for the industry players and the government,” PwC said in a research report.
Alejandro Aguilera Garibay, Chief Executive Officer, Cinepolis Gulf, added: “Cinépolis Cinemas considers Saudi Arabia as the prime territory for expansion in the next few years. Despite the already immense growth in the number of screens we’ve seen, we predict the industry could increase by up to 1,000 screens throughout the Kingdom within the next three years.
“In line with the 2030 vision, the overall market in Saudi Arabia has and is growing exponentially, with the cinema industry showing the same trend. Cinépolis Cinemas is eager to be a part of the transformation of the Kingdom aligned in line with the overall vision, and with this, the opportunity to bring cinemas to cities across KSA.
“For Cinépolis Cinemas, we see vast potential in the smaller cities the Kingdom has to offer. We have developed a robust business model catering specifically to our demographic and look forward to bringing the Cinépolis Cinemas experience to those cities in the upcoming years.”
A number of cinema complex projects are currently in the pipeline or in various stages of development.
The participation of AMC entertainment and DIEC is expected to give a boost to the development of the cinema industry in the Kingdom. In April 2018, DIEC opened its first cinema in the King Abdullah Financial District and aims to open 50-100 cinemas across Saudi Arabia by 2030.
Muvi Cinemas intends to grow to 307 screens nationwide by mid of 2022, launching 23 new sites in eight key Saudi regions, adding 204 screens and 22,872 seats to its portfolio. The expansion will bring the brand’s total number of seats to over 35,000.
The state-of-the-art five-screen cinema, accommodating 650 moviegoers, will open in the summer of 2022. SICO signed a contract with Muvi Cinemas in August 2021 to set up a cinema complex in Quwaieyah Mall.
