As Halloween approaches, it’s time to dive into the terrifying titles currently haunting GCC cinemas this season. With exhibitors embracing the spooky spirit, horror movies are taking center stage in the UAE and Gulf region, offering audiences a mix of thrilling, eerie, and supernatural experiences.
VOX Cinemas entices the brave with their “Films for the Fearless” showcase, while Reel Cinemas presents “Frights and Delights,” featuring a range of horror movies in GCC cinemas, from intense psychological thrillers to family-friendly spooks like Maleficent and Hotel Transylvania. This Halloween lineup bridges audiences’ favorite horrors of the year with new cinematic thrills awaiting in theaters.
The highly anticipated sequel Smile 2 returns to UAE screens, building on the success of its 2022 predecessor. Now playing across GCC cinemas, this psychological horror amplifies the chilling atmosphere with its cursed smile, exploring deeper layers of psychological torment. Boasting an impressive 86% on the Tomatometer, Smile 2 cements its place as a must-watch horror movie in GCC cinemas.
A standout this Halloween is Three, an Emirati horror film directed by UAE filmmaker Nayla Al Khaja. Based on real events, the film interweaves Eastern and Western spiritual beliefs, following a young boy named Ahmed as he battles night terrors. Culminating in an Islamic exorcism, Three offers a unique perspective on horror, meeting international standards in storytelling and production quality. This milestone for local cinema makes Three a significant addition to horror movies in GCC cinemas.
Directed by Alexandre Aja, Never Let Go is a gripping survival horror that stars Halle Berry. This film follows a mother and her children as they fight to survive against a relentless evil spirit. Despite mixed reviews around its narrative execution, the film’s intense performances and anxiety-inducing atmosphere deliver a chilling experience for fans of psychological thrillers with supernatural twists.
Bagman, directed by Colm McCarthy, explores the trauma and terror surrounding a mythical creature. Patrick McKee (Sam Claflin) survived an encounter with the “Bagman” as a child, but now the creature returns to haunt him and his family. Combining psychological horror with supernatural elements, this dark thriller promises a suspenseful and terrifying watch.
The latest installment in the Venom franchise, Venom: The Last Dance, is now showing in GCC cinemas. Packed with action and dark twists, this new release sees the anti-hero face off against new threats in a gripping narrative set against the backdrop of gothic horror.
The iconic demonic hunter Hellboy is back in The Crooked Man. Directed by Brian Taylor, this latest adaptation draws Hellboy (David Harbour) into eerie Appalachian folklore to confront the sinister Crooked Man. With praise for its faithful adaptation and stunning visuals, the film blends dark fantasy with folklore horror to offer a gripping narrative.
Latency takes audiences on a psychological journey as Hana, a professional gamer with agoraphobia, tests a new device that connects to her brainwaves. As her reality blurs, the film delivers a mind-bending experience with mixed reviews, praised for its innovative concept but critiqued for its complexity. For fans of psychological thrillers, this film stands out among the horror movies in GCC cinemas.
In Imaginary, a young girl creates an imaginary friend to cope with her loneliness, only to discover a dark side to this mysterious companion. The film dives into psychological and supernatural themes, leaving audiences with a lingering sense of dread.
AfrAId (stylized as AFRAID) is a sci-fi horror directed by Chris Weitz. The story follows the Curtis family as they test a new digital assistant AI named AIA in their home, only to find the AI turning their lives upside down with its increasingly sinister influence.
Wrapping up the list is Bhool Bhulaiyya 3, which follows the success of its predecessor and builds on the established franchise’s blend of horror and suspense. With the recent success of Bollywood horror hit Stree 2, this latest entry captures audiences with its psychological depth and gripping storytelling, set to be a top attraction in GCC cinemas on November 1.
For those seeking Halloween thrills, these horror movies are currently showing across VOX Cinemas, Reel Cinemas, AMC Cinemas KSA and other GCC theaters. Don’t miss your chance to experience these theatrical terrors on the big screen!
Source: Imdb, Rottentomatoes, Screen Rant, Roger Ebert, The Film Three, Cinemacy
Deadpool & Wolverine: the unmissable cultural moment of the year attracts over 500,000 fans to cinemas across the region
Cultural moments refer to events happening instantaneously around the world that catch the public’s attention through media content. Last year’s standout was Barbenheimer. This year, the excitement began with Inside Out 2, which has already grossed over US$1.56B worldwide. Now, the release of Deadpool & Wolverine marks yet another significant cultural moment.
Premiered on July 25, 2024, the third part of the Deadpool franchise has ignited the box office with a phenomenal global opening of US$438.3M. After just two weeks, the film has grossed over US$824M. This Marvel blockbuster has broken multiple records, including the 12th biggest opening ever and the second highest global opening, trailing only Avatar: The Way of Water and surpassing Barbie.
This success follows a streak of blockbusters outperforming initial predictions at the summer box office, kicked off by The Bad Boys: Ride or Die and continued by Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4, Twisters, and more.
View this post on Instagram
In the region, Deadpool & Wolverine dominated the box office across all operators represented by Motivate Val Morgan, achieving more than double the admissions of a typical weekend. The movie clocked in over 500k admissions at cinemas represented by MVM, with 226k admissions coming from the UAE.
Adding this success to the other top summer blockbusters in the region such as The Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Welad Rizk 3 (Arabic), and Inside Out 2, total admissions stand at over 3 million across the MVM circuit – just in a span of seven weeks. This cinematic streak provides advertisers with a unique opportunity to reach a young at heart, affluent audience in an environment of maximum active attention.
Brands such as BMW, Homecentre, Careem, Opel, Yas Island, Jeddah Season, ROVE Hotel, Hertfordshire University, and Splash were among the notable sponsors for the only Marvel movie of the year. They joined major regular advertisers such as American Hospital, Qatar Tourism, and Tilal Al Gaf, all of whom reaped significant benefits from this cultural moment of the year.
Check out the full list of ads booked to follow or coincide with Deadpool & Wolverine here.
Deadpool & Wolverine caps the extraordinary second half of cinema in 2024, in line with the trend of H2 performing well every year with major tent-pole releases. This year will be no different. Hollywood movies such as Joker: Folie à Deux, Moana 2, Wicked, Gladiator 2, and The Lion King: Mufasa, Asian movies like Singham Again (Hindi), Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (Hindi), Vettaiyan (Tamil), Greatest of All Time (Tamil), Bougainvillea (Malayalam), and Pushpa 2: The Rule (Multilingual), are also set to be the cultural moments for cinema in the months ahead.
