June 10, 2025
Middle East cinema markets deliver exceptional Eid al-Adha 2025 performance, with diverse content spanning Hollywood blockbusters to regional Arabic films driving unprecedented audience engagement.
Motivate Val Morgan has recorded an exceptional cinema box-office performance during the 2025 Eid al-Adha holiday period, with data from its cinema admissions reporting platform, CineMeasure, showing 1.06 million admissions across the circuit in just four days, reflecting robust growth in regional cinema attendance during key cultural holidays.
This success spans both international blockbusters and locally relevant content, creating diverse audience engagement across multiple demographics and significant opportunities for cinema advertising partners.
International blockbusters contributed significantly to this success, led by Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning in their third week of release, followed by the newly released Ballerina. Together, the films delivered over 422,000 admits for the circuit.
Lilo & Stitch, approaching $800 million in global box office revenue, continues to dominate family-oriented segments throughout the region. The live-action adaptation has successfully captured both younger audiences and nostalgic adult viewers.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, with worldwide earnings exceeding $450 million, maintains strong momentum as action movie audiences seek premium theatrical experiences. The UAE’s position among the top 10 international markets for the franchise’s opening highlights the region’s appetite for high-production-value entertainment that maximizes the big-screen experience.
Ballerina, with its $51 million worldwide box office opening, demonstrates the region’s appetite for stylized action entertainment, with the John Wick universe expansion attracting both franchise fans and new audiences seeking premium cinematic experiences.
Beyond the international blockbuster success, regional content delivered equally impressive results during the four-day period. Arabic language films led this segment, with Project X achieving over 150,000 admits after its Eid weekend release and securing the #1 position in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Kuwait, while reaching top five spots in UAE, Lebanon, and Bahrain. Restart – another Arabic-language release – continued its strong theatrical run in its second week, adding over 100,000 admissions during the holiday period.
Asian cinema also demonstrated strong appeal, with Thug Life opening with over 50,000 admits across the circuit, highlighting the diverse international content preferences beyond Hollywood blockbusters.
The broad geographic success across multiple markets indicates strong audience engagement with culturally resonant storytelling from locally produced Arabic films to diverse Asian cinema.
This comprehensive regional performance—spanning Hollywood blockbusters to local content—reflects broader positive global cinema trends. According to Gower Street Analytics, international markets achieved their highest May box office performance since 2019, generating $2.4 billion globally and representing 40% year-over-year growth. Current performance levels now track just 6% below pre-pandemic industry averages.
The combination of strong content performance, recovering market fundamentals, and demonstrated audience enthusiasm from international blockbusters to locally produced content ensures continued robust attendance levels across the region.
This recovery trajectory provides increased stability for advertising investment decisions. Consistent release schedules have now replaced the irregular content availability that characterized the post-pandemic period, creating a schedule with multiple wide releases weekly and more predictable audience traffic patterns, enabling strategic advertising campaign planning.
With consistent content performance and predictable audience patterns, now is the ideal time to maximize your cinema advertising investment across the region. Contact us to explore opportunities.
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