AMC The Walk 7 – Al Hofuf offers luxury auditoriums, best-in-class projection, sound and seating, and is the latest effort by AMC in an ongoing program to provide state-of-the-art cinemas across Saudi Arabia.
AMC Cinemas has opened its twelfth location at The Walk in Hofuf, KSA. The 7-screen cinema with a total of 362 seats, which includes a PRIME at AMC screen, is another impressive step in the rapid evolution of the cinema experience in Saudi Arabia.
Following the launch of The Walk 7, AMC aims to reach a large number of movie lovers around Saudi Arabia, a goal which is in line with the government’s plan to diversify entertainment content as well as provide new experiences to a range of audiences in several cities and governorates across the Kingdom.
Together with the opening of Tabuk Boulevard 7, AMC presently operates 82 screens across 13 locations in 9 cities of Saudi Arabia.
*Stay tuned for more on the launch of Tabuk Boulevard 7.
Motivate Val Morgan congratulates AMC Cinemas on the opening of AMC The Walk 7 – Al Hofuf, and warmly welcomes this location to our cinema circuit in KSA.
Source: AMC Cinemas
As multiple cinema exhibitors around the world have started to reopen doors to patrons, and cinemas across the GCC having already welcomed more than 5 million moviegoers in 2021, the Saudi Arabia cinema market continues to grow, with the Kingdom well on track to realising the goal of Vision 2030 – open more than 350 cinemas with 2,600 screens.
Saudi Arabia officially opened its cinematic market in 2018 with the launch of its first cinema by AMC, post its 35-year ban. The initiative was a part of Saudi’s 2030 vision of development towards the economic and social sectors.
In promoting culture and entertainment, one of the goals of Vision 2030 is for the government to specifically attract local investors and create partnerships with international entertainment corporations to develop a market of SAR 30 billion in recreational services, with SAR 10 billion solely for the development of the cinema sector in Saudi Arabia, which is projected to directly contribute SAR 1 billion to the GDP.
Since the opening of the first cinema by AMC Cinemas at King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in April 2018, followed by VOX Cinemas opening the second location at Riyadh Park Mall in May 2018, Saudi Arabia witnessed exponential growth in 2019, with a total of eleven 11 cinemas and 103 screens by the end of the year.
At the start of 2020 (prior to the COVID-19 lockdown), three more cinemas opened its doors to moviegoers in the city of Riyadh and Dammam, increasing the totals to 14 locations and 134 screens. When cinemas reopened post the lockdown in UAE and Saudi Arabia in June 2020 – with strict sanitisation and social distancing protocols in place, Saudi Arabia continued to expand its cinema landscape, adding 14 more locations and 130 screens across the country.
As of June 2021, Saudi Arabia has a total of 33 locations and 309 screens, proving to be GCC’s booming cinema market at present.
The latest Saudi issue by Campaign Middle East – Saudi Arabia Report 2021, has brought together the creative and marketing talent of Saudi Arabia to produce a catalogue of the media landscape in the Kingdom, and also shines light on Saudi’s post-COVID cinema landscape.
Access the complete cinema report and read what Avinash Udeshi, Chief Operating Officer, Motivate Val Morgan and representatives from leading cinema exhibitors in Saudi Arabia have to say about the unprecedented potential for growth in the country.
Sources: PWC, Arab news, The National and Arabian Business
Globally there are more than 150,000 operational cinema screens and the GCC accounts for 1,300 of them. Research by PwC estimates that more than 1,000 cinema screens are expected to launch over the next three to five years, and the total number of cinema screens are expected to increase by 38.4 percent in the MENA region.
Another study by PwC indicated that the box office revenue in the MENA region exceeded $500 million, which accounted for approximately 1.25 percent of the global box office revenue (US$39.92 billion) in 2017 – up three percent from 2016. With a growing population across the GCC and an increasing level of investment by both regional and international cinema exhibitors, the cinema industry is set to thrive over the years ahead.
The deregulation of Saudi Arabia’s film industry in 2018 has opened up a billion-dollar market for cinema exhibitors and film distributors. The undoing of this law will also present movie distributors with a tremendous opportunity – to exhibit in an additional market which happens to be the largest of all GCC countries, and allow brands to add cinema – a new, effective and unrivalled platform, to its media mix for greater reach.
According to Cameron Mitchell, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas, VOX Cinemas – which presently operates 355 cinema screens, will invest Dh2 billion and add 600 cinema screens in Saudi Arabia.
“All eyes in the industry are on Saudi Arabia right now,” he said. “We will invest $100 million in a year to open 100 cinema screens – part of the Dh2 billion plan to open 600 cinema screens in Saudi Arabia in the next three to five years. Overall, we will operate around 1,200 cinema screens across the region in five years’ time. With the Saudi market opening, we see a lot of opportunities in the region’s cinema and entertainment industry.”
With Arabic being the predominant language amongst Saudi nationals, local filmmakers and content writers – with the help of other creative talent across the region, will also be encouraged to produce more Arabic movies.
Image credits: Abu Dhabi World Online
Not only is cinema an ideal environment – distraction and disruption free, to watch new movie releases, but it’s also a place where movie-lovers frequent when wanting to experience unique concepts and technology on offer – 3D, 4DX and Dolby Atmos to name a few. Cinemas across the region also offer luxury experiences – which include a selection of fine food and drinks, for movie lovers with higher spending power.
Going to the cinema has now become a popular pastime across the GCC, with cinemagoers also watching more than one movie per week, which can be attributed to the promotions by both banks and telecom providers across the region – similar to that of ‘Buy one, get one free’ with HSBC, ‘50% off on Saturdays’ by Visa in Bahrain and ‘du Tuesday’ in the UAE. With audiences now being able to watch the latest movie releases in an affordable, comfortable, luxurious and memorable way, cinema admissions across the region can expect to witness steady growth over the years ahead.
Despite the proliferation of movie streaming platforms and the abandonment of cable, population trends indicate that cinema is still the preferred platform to watch new movie releases – premium first run content. Aside from being one of the fastest growing regions in the world, it is also one of the youngest, with over 50% of the region’s population under the age of 25 years. The younger generation tends to spend more on watching movies at the cinema, and in years to come, it will be this segment of GCC ‘s population that will drive the region’s cinema industry to new heights, allowing it to capture a larger share of the global box office.
With a mega line-up of blockbuster releases – such as Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Lion King, X-Men, Fast and the Furious, Toy Story 4 andStar Wars (to name a few), 2019 is predicted to be another record-breaking year – most likely attracting larger audiences between the ages of 16-34 years.
Motivate Val Morgan offers advertisers a regional cinema circuit – spanning across UAE, Lebanon, Oman, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and has the expertise to strategically plan a marketing campaign to engage cinemagoers at every stage of the cinema experience.
Find out more on our offerings – onscreen, offscreen and cinevations, and contact us to bring your brand to life on the big screen.
Source:Arab Health and Khaleej Times
MENA Cinema Forum – the first-ever business conference of its kind in the region, organised by GM Events was held in Dubai on 28th – 29th October 2018.
The 2-day conference covered a range of industry specific topics – with focus on the growth in the cinema industry in the Middle East, and was attended by more than 45 speakers, 450 delegates and 90 sponsors.
Cinema is the fastest growth market in the MENA region witnessing tremendous progress as a result of rapid population growth, urbanization, focus on development across leisure sectors, and the emergence of Saudi Arabia as a new market. Additionally, cinemagoers in the region demand the best movie experiences, stimulating upgrades and innovation across existing and upcoming facilities.
The MENA Cinema Forum brought together a spectrum of stakeholders within the cinema sector, including but not limited to local and international governments, investment companies, mall owners, cinema operators and exhibitors, suppliers and industry leaders.
The forum addressed areas required for successful establishment and operations of cinemas to meet growing regional requirements:
*Another key topic for discussion was global recognition of Arab Cinema, and how strong strategies and supply chains can further improve its acceptance.
As part of the Speakers’ panel, Avinash Udeshi, Chief Operating Officer – Motivate Val Morgan together with Deena Al Mansoori, Founder and CEO – Aljoori for Cinema Production and Advertisement and Anil Pattani, Director – Awan Media was invited on Day 2 to discuss the development of models that guarantee profitability of movie theatres.
Day 1 focused on:
Day 2 focused on:
Key Information from MENA Cinema Forum 2018
Other event features included: technical presentations, product showcases, roundtable discussions, workshop and break-out meetings, networking, awards ceremony, major announcements of upcoming movies in 20198 by 21st century and a special screening of First Man at Reel Cinemas – The Dubai Mall (Dolby Screen).
MENA Cinema Forum 2019
The next forum will be held in November 2019, with a focus on the exhibition industry & cinema infrastructure, and on MENA production.
For more information on the MENA Cinema Forum visit www.menacinema.com
Sources: Emirates 24|7, Forbes Middle East, Zawya, The Arab Weekly and MENA Cinema Forum
