VOX Cinemas wins the Highest Grossing Exhibitor in The Middle East 2020-21 award for generating revenue amounting to US$171.7 million in the Middle East from October 2020 to October 2021 at the META Cinema Forum Awards 2021.
VOX Cinema’s US$171.7 million box office revenue represents more than 21 percent of the US$800 million box office revenue expected in the Middle East in 2021, according to research by Omdia.
The 4th edition of the META Cinema Forum – the largest cinema convention, covering Middle East and African markets, powered by Yummz Hot Chips Cafe, took place between 26th and 28th October 2021 at the Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai.
Eight winners were honoured with the highest industry accolades at the META Cinema Forum Awards for their achievements – based on the numbers collated from industry sources – making it the most authentic industry awards based on performance. Two of the awards were presented by META Cinema Forum while the rest 6 were presented by Comscore.
VOX Cinemas won the Highest Grossing Exhibitor in The Middle East 2020-21 award for generated revenue amounting to US$171.7 million in the Middle East from October 2020 to October 2021.
Cinemarine Cinemas won the Exhibitor of the Pandemic Period of Turkey. Cenk Sezgin, Chief Executive Officer, Cinemarine Cinemas, received the award for his organisation.
Murat Cemcir, Enterprising investor, Producer, Artist, was adjudged the Fastest Box Office Success in a Very Short Seasonal Period in Turkey. His organisation saw 21 million in admission and TL226 million Turkish Lira box office revenue in 10 movies.
Four Star Films won the Highest-grossing English Title in the Middle East 2020-21 for Fast & Furious 9 with box office revenue reaching US$16.98 million in the Middle East.
Empire Entertainment and Orient Films won the Highest-Grossing Arabic Title in the Middle East 2020-21–for Waafet Reggaala, which generated US$15.08 million box office revenue in the Middle East.
Film One won the award in the Highest-Grossing Title in Africa 2020-21 category for Omo Ghetto: The Saga, with box office revenue reaching US$1.66 million in West Africa.
Muvi Cinemas won the Exhibitor of the Year 2020-21 award for its recent accomplishments in growth and development during a period of great uncertainty having established 121 screens over 13 locations across Saudi Arabia.
Eagle Films won the Distributor of the Year 2020-21 in recognition of the support and dedication to deliver a pipeline of quality films during a period of risk and instability having more than 46 most films released during October 2020 – to October 2021 – including Wrath of Man and The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.
Unlike other industry awards that are based on either corporate marketing presentations, public perception or jury nominations, META Cinema Forum Awards is based on pure numbers that puts them at the top of the ranking in each category where the names were chosen from.
Leila Masinaei, Managing Partner, Great Mind Events Management, said, “This is a true reflection of the best performance in each category in the film industry and we are pleased to honour them with their well-deserved awards.
“The numbers dictate who wins the awards. For example, Four Star Films won the Highest-grossing English Title in the Middle East 2020-21 for Fast & Furious 9 that is based on the box office revenue figure, reaching US$16.98 million in the Middle East. No one can dispute its rank as top-grossing film in the region.
“As MENA Cinema Forum matures as the largest cinema convention in the Middle East and Africa, we want to make thing more transparent to ensure authenticity of the awards that are based on third-party research.”
Box office revenue in the Middle East is set to cross US$800 million in 2021, US$1 billion in 2022 and US$1.3 billion in 2024, recovering from US$250 million in 2020 – marking the fastest recovery in the world, according to research by Omdia.
More than 500 industry delegates, experts and participants discussed the opportunities and challenges faced by the industry stakeholders at this year’s META Cinema Forum. The three-day mega film industry conference took place just a few weeks into Dubai Expo 2020 – the largest event in the Middle East and Africa region.
The Middle East and Africa region has one of the fastest growing entertainment industries in the world and governments are investing heavily to diversify economies and reduce dependency on a single economic sector
Motivate Val Morgan was a media partner for this year’s META Cinema Forum.
Sources: Press Release (Great Mind Events Management)
In this edition of ‘What’s Buzzin Behind the Screen’, we bring you the latest industry news – everything you need to know about what’s happening behind the scenes in Hollywood. From the latest trailer releases, to box office collections and movie announcements, here’s the October 2021 update:
Stay tuned for the latest industry news in our November 2021 edition.
Source: Screen Rant, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Rotten Tomatoes and Cinema Blend
Tuesday 5th October is the official Global James Bond Day – a celebration of 59 years of the Bond franchise since the release of Dr. No in 1962. This year, we celebrate the success of Daniel Craig’s last turn as 007 in No Time To Die.
Last Thursday (30th September 2021), we witnessed the return of the ‘licensed troubleshooter’ on the BIG Screen in a BIG way, exceeding conservative pre-weekend projections by rocketing to record US$119M in its opening weekend at international box office (a total of 54 markets).
The 25th James Bond film is also the first Hollywood title of the pandemic-era to cross US$100M in its international launch without China.
No Time To Die opened on 985 screens in the Middle East, making it the biggest release in the market this year. UAE and Saudi Arabia grossed US$2M and US$1.8M, respectively, in its opening weekend (Sept. 30 – Oct. 3).
The weekend opening of James Bond – No Time To Die was not only a busy weekend at the cinema, for it was also the busiest weekend’s in 2021 for Motivate Val Morgan, for we witnessed an influx of brands joining the ‘BondWagon’ to secure advertising alongside the most anticipated movie of the year.
Here are the advertisers who gained coverage beside 007 himself:
DHL
Campaign Type: Follow A Movie (No Time To Die)
Country: Egypt
Locations: VOX Cinemas – City Centre Alexandria, City Centre Almaza, Mall of Egypt
B.Tech
Campaign Type: Follow A Movie (No Time To Die)
Country: Egypt
Locations: VOX Cinemas – City Centre Alexandria, City Centre Almaza, Mall of Egypt
Christian Dior
Campaign Type: Follow A Movie (No Time To Die)
Country: KSA & UAE
Locations: Multiple AMC, Muvi, Reel and VOX cinema locations
Cartier
Campaign Type: Follow A Movie (No Time To Die)
Country: KSA, UAE & Qatar
Locations: Multiple Muvi, Reel and VOX cinema locations
Spotii
Campaign Type: Follow A Movie (No Time To Die)
Country: KSA & UAE
Locations: Muvi Cinemas – Mall of Arabia and VOX Cinemas – Riyadh Park Mall
Armani / Prive
Campaign Duration: Sept. 30th to Oct. 29th
Country: UAE
Locations: Reel Cinemas – The Dubai Mall and VOX Cinemas – Mall of the Emirates
Galaxy Fusions
Campaign Duration: Sept. 30th to Nov. 3rd
Country: UAE
Locations: Reel Cinemas – The Dubai Mall and VOX Cinemas – Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Mirdif, Nakheel Mall and Wafi City
*A total of three commercials that will screen in rotation.
Land Rover (Defender)
Campaign Duration: Sept. 30th to Oct. 13th/Oct. 20th
Country: UAE & Kuwait
Locations: Multiple Reel and VOX cinema locations
Saudi German Hospital
Campaign Duration: Sept. 30th to Dec. 1st
Country: UAE
Locations: Multiple Reel and VOX cinema locations
Campaign Duration: Sept. 30th to Dec. 1st
Country: Kuwait
Location: VOX Cinemas – The Avenues
Yas Island
Campaign Duration: Sept. 30th to Oct. 13th
Country: UAE
Locations: Multiple Reel and VOX cinema locations
Atlantis
Campaign Type: Follow A Movie (No Time To Die)
Country: UAE
Locations: Reel Cinemas – The Dubai Mall, Dubai Marina Mall and The Pointe, and VOX Cinemas – Mall of the Emirates
Prada
Ad Format: 4DX
Campaign Duration: Sept. 30th to Oct. 27th
Country: UAE
Locations: Multiple VOX cinema locations
Kuwait Finance House
Campaign Duration: Oct. 1st to Oct. 21st
Country: UAE
Location: VOX Cinemas – The Avenues
*A total of three commercials that will screen in rotation.
Doha Academy
Campaign Type: Follow A Movie (No Time To Die)
Country: Qatar
Location: VOX Cinemas – Dubai Festival City
RedBull Mobile
Country: Oman
Locations: Multiple VOX cinema locations
The campaign was meant to commence on Sept. 30th; however it has been delayed due to Cyclone Shaheen raging through parts of the Gulf region – mainly Oman. The campaign will therefore commence at a later point in October 2021.
Lincoln
Campaign Type: Follow A Movie (No Time to Die)
Country: UAE
Location: VOX Cinemas – Yas Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Mercato and City Centre Mirdif
*The two commercials will screen in rotation
LEGO
Campaign Type: Follow A Movie (No Time to Die)
Country: UAE
Location: Reel Cinemas – The Dubai Mall
Bank Muscat
Campaign Type: Follow A Movie (No Time to Die)
Country: Oman
Location: Multiple VOX cinema locations
Audi (Q5)
Campaign Duration: Oct. 4th to Oct. 24th
Country: KSA
Location: VOX Cinemas – Riyadh Park Mall and Muvi Cinemas – Mall of Dhahran
On screen advertising wasn’t the only hit during the release of Not Time To Die. From digital screen ads by DHL, a sampling activity by Galaxy, to a car display by Aston Martin at the premier/opening in Egypt and more, check out the off screen activities booked through Motivate Val Morgan on the weekend starting Sept 30th.
In Bond we believed, and as always… 007 delivered!
With an exciting lineup of movies ahead: Venom: Let There Be Carnage, The Last Duel, Eternals, Sooryavanshi (Hindi), Annaatthe (Tamil), House of Gucci, West Side Story, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Matrix Resurrections, The King’s Man, 83 (Hindi) and more, don’t miss out on aligning your brand alongside the release of these anticipated blockbusters.
Contact a member of our sales team for on and off screen cinema advertising opportunities over the weeks ahead.
Sources: 007.com, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and Box Office Mojo
Saudi Arabia celebrated its 91st National Day (also known as Al-Yaom-ul-Watany) on 23rd September 2021, commemorating the birth of the modern Saudi nation.
This year’s theme and slogan was ‘Heya Lana Dar’, which means ‘A Home for Us’ – appreciating the spirit of the country’s cultural diversity that makes everyone (Saudis and foreigners) feel at home.
To honour and celebrate the transformative journey the country has embarked on over the past 91 years, leading brands in Saudi Arabia launched cinema campaigns across the country:
Saudia
The national airline of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launched its national day cinema campaign emphasizing the spirit of being a Saudi national and its prosperity through generations.
Commercial Duration: 60 sec.
Campaign Duration: 21 – 24 September 2021
Locations: VOX Cinemas (Riyadh Front and Red Sea Mall), Muvi Cinemas (Nakheel Mall and Mall of Dhahran), AMC Cinemas – Stars Avenue and Cinépolis Cinemas – Lulu Mall
STC
Saudi Telecom Company launched its cinema campaign that parades the evolution of digital life in the kingdom.
Commercial Duration: 90 sec.
Campaign Duration: 23 – 25 September 2021
Locations: VOX Cinemas (Riyadh Park Mall and Red Sea Mall), AMC Cinemas – Panorama, Muvi Cinemas (Mall of Arabia and Nakheel Mall) and Cinépolis Cinemas – Lulu Mall
Banque Saudi Fransi
The Saudi based banking group’s national day campaign celebrates the vision and achievement of Saudi Arabia as a nation in various sectors.
Commercial Duration: 30 sec.
Campaign Duration: 21 – 27 September 2021
Locations: VOX Cinemas (Riyadh Park Mall, Kingdom Tower, Riyadh Front and Red Sea Mall), AMC Cinemas (Panorama and Riyadh Gallery) and Muvi Cinemas (Nakheel Mall Riyadh, U Walk, Mall of Arabia, Nakheel Mall Dammam and Mall of Dhahran)
Tamimi Markets
One of the fastest-growing supermarket chains in Saudi Arabia booked an ad to commemorate the Kingdom’s prosperity and greatness.
Commercial Duration: 15 sec.
Campaign Duration: 22 – 28 September 2021
Locations: 25 locations covering multiple VOX, Muvi, AMC and Cinépolis cinema locations
The General Presidency for the affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque
The government agency launched its campaign welcoming pilgrims and aiming to facilitate worshipers to perform the religious worship at the grand mosques with a prompt for being dutiful and generous in the times of the pandemic.
Commercial Duration: 60 sec.
Campaign Duration: 23 – 25 September 2021
Locations: VOX Cinemas – Town Square, Muvi Cinemas – Nakheel Mall in Dammam and AMC Cinemas – Azizia Plaza
With National Days of Oman (18th November), UAE (2nd December), Bahrain (16th December) and Qatar (18th December) around the corner, contact a member of our sales team for more information on cinema advertising opportunities to mark these special days!
Cinépolis Cinemas will be Motivate Val Morgan’s eighth cinema exhibitor, bringing it’s total screen representation across the Middle East to 1000+ across 100+ cinema locations
Motivate Val Morgan has signed an exclusive advertising sales partnership with Cinépolis Cinemas in the Gulf.
Cinépolis Cinemas, a leading Mexican owned cinema exhibitor and the third largest movie theater circuit in the world, created a joint venture with the Dubai-based Al Tayer Group to build and operate cinemas across the GCC region. In Saudi Arabia, Al Tayer Group and Cinépolis have partnered with Al Hokair Group, a leading hospitality and entertainment operator in the MENA region, to set up movie theaters in 15 major cities across the country.
Cinépolis Cinemas opened its first cinema in Bahrain in January 2019. Today, the cinema exhibitor operates 68 screens across 7 locations in Bahrain, Oman, UAE and Saudi Arabia.
“At Cinépolis, we are always seeking out new and innovative engagement opportunities and communication channels with our audiences. Partnering with Motivate Val Morgan, the pioneer in advertising sales throughout the region, provides us with the platform to do so. I have no doubt both our brands will greatly benefit from this alliance” said Alejandro Aguilera, CEO of Cinépolis Cinemas in the Gulf.
Commenting on the partnership, Ian Fairservice, Managing Partner of Motivate Media Group and CEO of Motivate Val Morgan, said, “We are pleased to further expand Motivate Val Morgan’s presence in the region with this exciting partnership and look forward to working alongside the Cinépolis team.”
Cinépolis Cinemas plans to continue its growth path throughout the Kingdom over the next 12 months, with the aim to have 100 operational screens by 2023.
Motivate Val Morgan now represents a total of 8 leading cinema exhibitors and offers advertisers inventory on 1000+ screens across 100+ cinema locations in UAE, Oman, Lebanon, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Source: Cinépolis Cinemas
UAE Jury for Cannes Lions 2021 include Paul Shearer, Jennifer Fischer, Dida Atassi and seven other highly respected and award winning advertising and media personalities.
As the official representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan are pleased to announce that ten leading advertising and media professionals from the UAE have been selected as jury members for the 2021 Festival.
UAE jury members who will be on the Awarding and Shortlisting jury panel include:
Industry Craft Lions
Paul Shearer | Chief Creative Officer | Impact BBDO Dubai
Paul has always believed in bringing something different to the table.
His work for Guess Jeans, Nike, Audi and Levi’s has won him respect and numerous advertising awards.
During his time at BBH, Paul had the opportunity to work collaboratively with clients, which contributed to his work being impactful and successful in the marketplace. Paul then decided to broaden his horizons globally and took a job at Wieden and Kenedy Amsterdam as the Creative Director. It was here that he had the chance to work on the Nike account.
Paul prides himself on understanding the digital world and has won 54 Cannes Lions (the most recent being a Grand Prix). When it comes to awards, Paul believes that winning a client some new customers is far more satisfying. Other awards won include 8 D&AD pencils, 15 One Show and 9 British Television awards.
Innovation Lions
Jennifer Fischer | Chief Innovation Officer | TBWA\RAAD
Always dissatisfied with the status quo, Jennifer spent years shaping the future of some of the most valuable brands in the world such as Coca-Cola, Apple, Ikea, KFC, Expo 2020, Facebook or Nissan.
Her role as Chief Innovation Officer MENA for TBWA\RAAD is to lead an always in beta transformation – harnessing the power of technology, strategy, collaboration, and creativity to re-imagine the way companies work, innovate and grow.
Her career milestones include many firsts from launching the first opera house in the region to communicating the first space mission from an Arabic nation or working on the first Apple campaign in MENA.
Her ideas have been published and shared by Forbes, Campaign Magazine, Communicate, Marketing Society, Arab Ad, Arabian Business among others.
Design Lions
Dida Atassi | Design Director | Accenture Interactive Middle East
An accomplished digital professional, Dida has spent 18 years developing compelling world-class experiences for global and local brands across telecommunication, banking, retail, lifestyle and government sectors. From ideation workshops to polished design deliverables, Dida places a particular focus on crafting unique, loveable products and services that resonate with local cultures. As an advocate of the user, Dida tries to help people see how digital can make life a little easier by designing simple and rewarding experiences.
Dida’s skills include user experience design, interface design, service design, and digital strategy using tools such as prototyping, user research and design thinking workshops and methodology. She has a particular interest in studying local cultures and norms and how they impact design.
Media Lions
Asad Rehman | Director Media and Digital Transformation | Unilever MENA
Asad manages Unilever’s Media & Digital Marketing Transformation for Middle & East North Africa. He also sits at the Unilever MENA/Turkey/Russia Board. He has been in Dubai since 2013, prior to which he spent 6 years at the Unilever HQ in London. Earlier on in his career, Asad worked for WPP/Group M in various parts of the world. He managed local offices in Pakistan and Vietnam, did a global role in London, and managed regional projects in Asia and LATAM.
Asad is an award-winning marketer with accolades from D&AD, Cannes Lions, WARC, Global Effie’s, and Spikes, Lynx, Festival of Media, and MENA Effie’s, and is passionate about bringing together technology, data, and creativity to help craft purposeful brands.
Asad was the Founding Chair of The Marketing Society Middle East Chapter from 2016 to 2018 and sits on the board of the IAA UAE. He was awarded The Marketing Society Fellowship in 2019 and was also the Effie’s Marketer of The Year in 2018.
PR Lions
Amy Brill | Head of PR | M&C Saatchi
As M&C Saatchi Public Relations’ market lead for the UAE, Amy is responsible for the overall direction of the team, creative work and business growth. An experienced PR professional, she has worked for some of the world’s most recognisable brands across corporate and consumer sectors.
Amy has a BA Hons degree in Public Relations from Bournemouth University in the UK and started her career at BBC Worldwide before embarking on agency life, working for clients such as Rolls-Royce, Discovery, Hilton, Disney, PayPal and the British Embassy in both the UK and Middle East.
She established the M&C Saatchi Public Relations business in the UAE in 2017, aged just 27 and has been recognised by industry leaders as a Rising Star and Face to Watch. In the two years the agency has been running, Amy and her team have picked up gold and silver accolades at both the PRCA and MEPRA Awards.
Brand Experience and Activation Lions
Vidya Manmohan | Founder and Creative Chairwoman | V4 Advertising LLC
Vidya Manmohan is the Founder & Creative Chairwoman of V4 Good and Ex-Executive Creative Director of GREY Dubai.
She also happens to be one among the rare breed of female Executive Creative Directors in the region today, celebrated for having travelled off the beaten track, across the span of her career – from walking out of the gates of medical school to pursue a career in Advertising and switching from Art direction to copywriting mid-way through her successful career.
What’s more, this mom of a University student has gone back to University herself to pursue her Master’s in Digital Management, whilst having successfully launched a new-age communication hub.
Her work reflects the pop culture around her and has bagged International awards, not only in the print and outdoor categories, but also in radio, design, digital, integrated and advertising for good.
Vidya has also been on the jury panel of International Advertising Festivals such as Cannes Lions, New York Festivals, Clio, Adfest, Lisbon Advertising Awards, The White Square and the Young Guns to name a few.
Film Lions
Serena Abi Aad | Head of Content | Havas Dubai
Serena is an award winning film director whose short films have travelled international festivals across the Middle East, Europe and Canada.
As a passionate storyteller, her professional journey has been diverse and always centered around storytelling.
She spent most of her twenties on film sets, learning every job in a film crew. She then decided to understand the ad world better and became a TV producer at Leo Burnett, where she worked on films for DSF, Chevrolet and Hummer, among others.
Following her time at Leo Burnett, she worked with MBC as writer, producer and director of a first of its kind reality TV show. In 2012, she joined Yahoo as branded content manager and supervised multiple video content productions for brands such as P&G and DSF.
She had her own content production house for a couple of years, before joining Havas DXB as Head of Content.
She is currently Creative Director at Havas DXB, telling stories for clients such as FAB, Barakat, Veet and Durex.
Social & Influencer Lions
Akanksha Goel | Founder & CEO | Socialize
A digital marketing pioneer, Akanksha Goel is the founder of Socialize; Middle East’s first dedicated social media agency.
Akanksha started her career at the age of 20, as the youngest ever Editor-in-chief for STUFF Magazine. She gained experience working across India & Singapore, where she was at the forefront of the Web2.0 revolution and helped organise Asia’s first-ever pod-camp. She then moved to Dubai amidst the region’s economic crisis, and in 2010 created Socialize to harness the untapped business potential of then-emerging social networks.
In her current role as Managing Director, she is actively involved in driving business growth, leading team development and overseeing the strategic mandate across the agency’s coveted client roster that includes iconic brands like Dubai EXPO 2020, Volkswagen, Sony, General Mills & Bioderma.
An executive graduate from Harvard Business School; she holds a business degree in Marketing Communications from Singapore Management University. Nominated as Emirates Woman of the Year and named to Holmes Report’s Innovator 25 list in 2018, Akanksha is widely recognized as a business influencer, speaker, and a reference for social media in the Middle East.
Direct Lions
Alex Pineda | Creative Director | TBWA\RAAD
Alex Pineda was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and English and Spanish speaker and Crazy about football. He is also a museum hunter, napkin illustrator and comic book artist who has travelled to 5 continents, 77 countries, hundreds of cities, and explored many cultures.
He holds a Master’s degree in ‘Creativity and Strategic Management of Advertising’ from the European Institute of Design in Barcelona, Spain; Specialist in ‘Advertising Management’ from the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University of Bogotá, Colombia; and graduated as a ‘Professional in Graphic Design’ from the same university.
Alex has been awarded at Cannes Lions, Cannes Young Lions, D&AD, One Show, Clio, Dubai Lynx, LIA London International Awards, New York Festivals, Loeries, Webby Awards, Effies, Epica, Cresta, Ojo De Iberoamérica, Festival El Dorado and ‘Lápiz de Acero’ (National Design Award of Colombia).
He was also elected as ‘Associate Creative Director of the Year’ for the Middle East and North Africa, by the ‘Black & White Report’ in 2018; the Number 1 Creative Copywriter in the UAE by ‘Lürzer’s Archive’ Magazine in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and one of the “Best Colombian expats around the world” by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia and the Embassy of Colombia in Abu Dhabi in 2020.
Outdoor Lions
Fabio Silveira | General Manager | Havas Dubai
Fabio has been in leadership positions on strategy and client services in creative agencies for the past 10 years.
His experience spans 15 years and 5 continents – with regional and global responsibilities in Brazil, Portugal and Dubai.
He’s currently responsible for the operations of Havas Creative in Dubai, encompassing Client Services, Strategy, Creative, Social Media, Content and Production.
Cannes Lions 2021 will mark the highest ever representation from global brands, platforms, entertainment and technology companies, bringing a breadth of expertise to the Lions awards.
Furthermore, for the first time ever, the number of female jurors too reaches 51%, up from 48% in 2019.
Cannes Lions 2021 will be fully digital, running as Cannes Lions Live, from 21-25 June. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the event in Cannes, France, will not take place this year. Further information on the Lions can be found at Cannes Lions Awards.
We at Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan warmly congratulate these ten highly respected and award winning advertising and media personalities from the UAE who will be part of the jury panel at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival, and wish them all the very best with the judging ahead.
From leisure and entertainment, to healthcare and properties & real estate, here are the commercials presently
dominating the big screen across the Motivate Val Morgan cinema circuit.
With recent blockbusters such as Tom & Jerry, Raya and the Last Dragon and Godzilla vs. Kong performing successfully well at box office, and with more content across a variety of languages confirmed for theatrical release, there is no better time than now to advertise your brand in cinema.
Here are some brand commercials presently dominating the big screen:
American Hospital
Ad Duration: 60 sec.
Campaign Duration: 05th March 2021 to 14th July 2021
Country: UAE
Cinema Locations: Reel Cinemas – The Dubai Mall, Dubai Marina Mall, The Pointe and VOX Cinemas – City Centre Mirdif, Mall of the Emirates, Mercato and Nakheel Mall
Atlantis
Ad Duration: 30 sec.
Follow a Movie: Godzilla vs Kong
Country: UAE
Cinema Locations: VOX Cinemas – Mall of Emirates and Reel Cinemas – The Dubai Mall, Dubai Marina Mall and The Pointe.
Mohammed Bin Rashid City
Ad Duration: 55 sec.
Campaign Duration: 23rd Jan 2021 to 21st April 2021 (Part of an Annual Campaign)
Country: UAE
Cinema Locations: Multiple Reel and VOX locations
Al Hokail Medical Group
Ad Duration: 20 sec. (each)
Campaign Duration: 18th March to 26th May 2021
Country: Saudi Arabia
Cinema Locations: VOX Cinemas – West Avenue Mall and MUVI Cinemas – Nakheel Mall
Double Tree by Hilton Resort and Spa
Ad Duration: 30 sec.
Campaign Duration: 25th March 2021 to 07th April 2021
Country: UAE
Cinema Locations: VOX Cinemas – City Centre Mirdif, Mercato, Mall of the Emirates, Nation Towers, YAS Mall, The Galleria Al Maryah Island.
Cartier
Ad Duration: 30 sec.
Campaign Duration: 25th March 2021 to 07th April 2021
Country: Saudi Arabia
Cinema Locations: VOX Cinemas – Red Sea Mall, Riyadh Front, Riyadh Park and Kingdom Centre, and MUVI Cinemas – Mall of Arabia.
Etisalat
Ad Duration: 60 sec.
Campaign Duration: 25th March 2021 to 13th April 2021 (part of annual campaign)
Country: UAE
Cinema Locations: Multiple VOX, Reel, Oscar, Cine Royal and Cinemacity locations.
Shine light on your brand by making cinema an integral part of your media plan! Contact a member of our sales team for more information on advertising opportunities.
Shot with IMAX Cameras, Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated sci-fi thriller, from Warner Bros., Tenet will release in cinemas across the UAE, KSA and Lebanon on Thursday 27th August (Wednesday 26th August in Egypt).
Towards the end of July, Warner Bros. confirmed that Tenet would release in cinema, towards the end of August, in 70 overseas territories including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United Kingdom.
The studio is still waiting for the go-ahead to debut Tenet in China – the world’s second-largest movie market. When theatres in the country first started to reopen, there were concerns that Tenet wouldn’t be able to screen there as exhibitors were not able to play movies that exceeded two hours in length — and Tenet clocks in at just over 2 hours and 30 minutes. But cinema owners have recently booked Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Inception and other old titles with lengthy runtimes, suggesting that China has eased up or doesn’t plan to enforce the restriction.
Warner Bros. also confirmed that the studio plans to move away from traditional global day-and-date release — a surprising break from tradition since North America is the world’s biggest film market and remains pivotal for major movies to turn a profit. Instead of a global day-and-date release, the studio hopes to innovate and recalibrate given the fact that foreign markets are already starting to reopen safely and is in desperate need for new Hollywood movies to entice audiences.
AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron praised Warner Bros. for sticking to its promise of a theatrical release for Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, saying the studio is “doing something heroic.”
Watch the trailer for Tenet below:
Advertisers… here’s your chance to return to the BIG screen in a BIG way, alongside the first summer blockbuster release of 2020. Check out our Tenet offers below:
Hurry! This is an opportunity not to miss out on.
Contact a member of our sales team for more information on cinema advertising opportunities alongside this MEGA Blockbuster!
Source: Variety
Motivate Val Morgan’s Chief Operating Officer, Avinash Udeshi looks at the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Cinema and how it will change this industry in the long term.
“I’ll be back!”
This iconic dialogue from the Terminator series comes to my mind when asked to write about the state of cinema as a medium post the COVID-19 imposed lockdown.
Cinemas, globally as well here in the Middle East, have been asked to stop operating by their respective governments. We and similar organizations thus face a serious challenge as business has come to a 100% standstill.
We are currently working from home attending to the administrative side of the business, keeping in regular contact with cinema operators, agencies & advertisers and working on pre and post-opening strategies.
While in business we are pursuing prudence on reductions where possible, we cannot deny that there is serious pressure on operational costs as cash flow management is affected by delay in collections. Luckily, we are blessed to have great partners who are supporting us as much as they can, sometimes the agencies even pay us prior to receiving the dues from their clients, and a terrific core management team that believes in protecting the work force for the day when things start to take a turn for the better.
As we have always seen, any event brings out polarizing views. In the recent weeks, we have heard doomsayers predicting the death of movie theatres and the rise of streaming services as a complete replacement. The entire incident with Trolls: Word Tour – an animated movie set to release in cinemas before the pandemic hit, being directly released on VOD has cinemas at loggerheads with Universal Studios.
The negative voices become louder when there is news that some of the smaller cinema chains or standalone movie theatres are going to close down. Yes, there will be closures but not because of the death of the medium, but instead due to a lack of liquidity or higher operational costs within these individual businesses. These pressures on profits existed even before the forced COVID-19 closures. These are the same challenges as with any other business, where the objective is higher demand and lower operational costs, in which rents play a very significant role.
In the end, let us not forget that ‘Movie Theatrical Release’ is a very successful business, and that even amid fears of competition from streaming and other media, worldwide box office revenues in 2019 reached a new global record of $42.5B, as reported by Comscore. The other rights viz. Cable, VOD, DVD etc. contribute a substantial revenue for the Studios but that is post the revenue derived from cinemas. Thus the cinema business model will continue to thrive, with KSA and China continuing to multiply their screen count. All of these “viewing outlets” will continue to live in harmony with each other and one cannot/will not be replaced by the other.
My personal opinion too is that we as humans are a very resilient race and our ability to accept hardships as a new normal has always shone through. I, for one, despaired hopelessly when wearing a mask as mandated while going for a daily walk on day one, but by the third day accepted this as a standard if I wanted to step out of my home. Similarly, once cinemas reopen with the proper safety protocols in place, there will be consumers. Initially there will be lesser admissions which will slowly rise up to good capacity, as we all love the larger than life cinema experience and are finally ‘social’ at heart.
The key to the magic of this medium has always been the consumption of content in the best viewing conditions and that is what will always drive patrons to cinema. Thus, the fact that most studios have delayed their film releases has proved that their ideal curtain raiser is cinema, a fact that negates the doomsayers.
On the overall local and global market, just like in every crisis, those who survive and/or have war chests, will come out far stronger and success stories will start rising again. One important thing to remember is that those that remain have to support each other with flexible terms and avoid rigidity.
Cinema has survived catastrophic events such as world wars and other pandemics, and will undoubtedly emerge as a medium of choice again. Our region has one of the highest cinema occupancy percentages in the world and that is not going to change. The third and fourth quarter movie releases remain intact with a number of blockbusters releasing and in fact, some of our advertisers have already confirmed that they are looking forward to returning to cinema for advertising – hence ensuring that we as a medium will not be terminated, even by a global pandemic. We’ll be back!
This article was also published in Campaign Magazine Middle East
4DX had its best year yet at Global Box Office in 2019, with CJ 4DPLEX – the company behind multi-sensory 4DX cinema technology, announcing it had a record-breaking year, grossing more than £246 million ($320 million) for 4DX worldwide.
Marking a 12% increase from 2018’s record of $286 million, it was the best year yet for the groundbreaking format. The uptick is partly credited to booming revenues in the U.S., where 4DX Box Office increased by 73% from 2018, while European markets grew by 17% from the previous year.
The announcement was further proof that a rising tide lifts all boats, after the global box office hit a record high in 2019, surpassing $42.5 billion. Overseas revenues also soared to new heights, topping $30 billion for the first time.
The trend toward premium and immersive cinema formats is helping to fuel this growth.
4DX provides cinema audiences a variety of special effects in cinemas, such as vibrating chairs, blowing winds, fog, and splashing water, through the use of specially designed in-theater technology.
Listed below are the 7 highest movies that smashed 4DX Box Office Records in 2019:
Avengers: Endgame – $34.4M
Aladdin – $25.9M
The Lion King – $23.2M
Frozen 2 – $18.8M
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw – $16.9M
Captain Marvel – $14.0M
Spider-Man: Far From Home – $13.2M
The top 4DX markets – Japan, China, Korea, France, U.S, Mexico and United Kingdom – together account for more than 66% of the format’s total global box office takings in 2019. These markets broke records in attendance and global box office, surpassing the top seven record of 2018. Most of all, U.S. became the biggest grosser among seven countries as 4DX box office grew more than 73% in comparison to 2018.
The multi-sensory format and Cinema Advertising
4DX engages audiences to be part of the adventure whilst experiencing the entirety of virtual reality, and also offers advertisers an exciting format of cinema advertising – guaranteed to create greater brand impact.
Here’s an article with example 4D cinema campaigns booked through MVM:
Achieve Greater Brand Impact with 4D Cinema Advertising
Break through the confines of advertising and explore the possibility of aligning your brand with a movies scheduled to release in 4DX format across the Middle East.
Mulan
No Time to Die
Black Widow
F9
Wonder Woman 1984
Top Gun: Maverick
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Jungle Cruise
The King’s Man
Contact us for 4D cinema advertising opportunities across the Middle East.
Sources: Digital Cinema Report and PR News Wire
