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.
Summer Box Office 2025 data reveals cinema set to dominate GCC marketing landscape with record-breaking audience numbers and premium engagement.
Cinema endures as the most popular form of ‘away from home’ entertainment, providing scale and engagement in a brand-safe environment for advertisers. As the summer heat builds across the region, movie theaters are emerging as the “coolest” destination for both audiences and smart marketers.
The early indicators for summer 2025 are nothing short of spectacular. Mission Impossible UAE 2025 opening reached an impressive $3.6 million, securing the region’s position among the top 10 global markets and claiming the number one position locally.
Globally, the weekend of May 22-25 delivered extraordinary results. Disney’s Lilo & Stitch and Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning combined for a remarkable $545.7 million worldwide opening, setting the stage for an exceptional summer season. The momentum continued through their third week, with both films maintaining strong holds and adding an estimated $677 million globally, bringing their combined three-week total to approximately $1.22 billion – proving that quality content sustains audience engagement well beyond opening weekend.
The success extends beyond standard screenings. IMAX delivered franchise-best numbers for Mission: Impossible with $53.2 million globally through three weeks, while Lilo & Stitch drew families to premium large format presentations. This reinforces growing audience preference for enhanced experiences, with 77% of moviegoers now favoring IMAX, Dolby and other PLF Cinema formats according to the Fandango Moviegoing Trends & Insights Study Spring 2025 .
The reasons behind summer’s dominance are crystal clear in the latest consumer insights. According to the Fandango, an overwhelming 83% of all moviegoers are planning to beat the summer heat by heading to the theater. But it’s not just about escaping the heat—audiences are actively seeking diverse experiences, with 78% interested in seeing a variety of movie genres in theaters over the summer—up from 68% in the previous year, showing a growing interest in moviegoers actively wanting to diversify their cinematic experiences.
The appetite runs deep. 66% of all moviegoers are planning to see four or more movies in theaters across the upcoming summer period — with the numbers rising to 69% among Gen Z. This proves that it isn’t casual entertainment consumption; it’s committed engagement with the in-cinema medium.
Fandango Moviegoing Trends & Insights Study Spring 2025 findings are based on extensive research encompassing more than 5,000 moviegoer responses from primary North American markets, with trends reflecting broader international cinema consumption behaviors.
The summer lineup reads like a marketer’s dream slate of audience magnets, spanning blockbuster franchises, beloved reboots, and regional favorites:
Download our Q3 2025 ScreenTalk Movie Planner for the full list of movies releasing this summer and throughout Q3 2025.
With this exceptional lineup, premium audience engagement, and record-breaking early performance, summer 2025 is shaping up to deliver unprecedented opportunities for advertisers to connect with captivated audiences in the most immersive advertising environment available.
Looking beyond summer into the broader landscape of 2025, the theatrical pipeline has never been stronger. Hollywood Studios are unveiling roughly 110 movies this year, at least 15 more than they did in 2024—the highest number since 2020 and a 16% increase from the previous year, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners. For this region adding this with the ever-rising popularity of Arabic films and Asian movies and absence of any big sports event makes 2025 as the best year for cinema.
Summer Box Office 2025 delivers unprecedented opportunities with 83% of moviegoers heading to theaters, creating the largest captive audience for brand-safe advertising in the region.
Mission Impossible ($3.6M regional opening) and Disney’s Lilo & Stitch are the primary drivers, with their combined three-week $10.8 million performance.
Mission Impossible UAE 2025 opening reached an impressive $3.6 million, securing the region’s position among the top 10 global markets and highlighting the Middle East’s growing cinema influence.
The weekend of May 22-25, 2025, delivered a spectacular reminder of cinema’s enduring power. Disney’s Lilo & Stitch and Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning combined for an extraordinary $545.7 million global opening, setting the stage for an exceptional summer season.
Lilo & Stitch surfed to a remarkable $341.7 million global debut, claiming the third-highest Disney Live Action opening weekend ever—trailing only to The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. The film’s success story extends far beyond traditional expectations, with the $100 million production—originally destined for Disney+ before receiving a theatrical upgrade.
What makes this performance particularly impressive is the film’s demographic reach. According to THR, rather than relying solely on families, Lilo & Stitch captured 60% of its domestic audience from non-parent demographics, driven largely by Gen Z and millennial women who grew up with the 2002 animated original. This cross-generational appeal translated into robust international numbers, with $158.7 million from overseas markets, including dominant performances in Mexico, the UK, and Brazil.
Tom Cruise continues to defy both gravity and industry expectations with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning launching to $204 million worldwide. The eighth installment in the franchise achieved series-best numbers globally, collecting $127 million overseas alongside strong domestic performance, surpassing previous franchise record-holder Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
Early audience reception has been positive, with an A- CinemaScore and strong critical reviews praising the film’s practical stunts and emotional storytelling.
The Middle East emerged as a crucial contributor to both films’ success. The UAE ranked among the top 10 markets for Mission: Impossible, with the Tom Cruise vehicle claiming the number one position in the region. Meanwhile, Lilo & Stitch demonstrated strong family appeal across Gulf markets, contributing significantly to Disney’s international haul.
This regional performance underscores the Middle East’s growing importance in the global cinema ecosystem. With the regional market projected to reach $3.44 billion by 2033, driven by young demographics and expanding urban centers, the weekend’s results demonstrate audiences’ appetite for premium theatrical experiences and blockbuster content across all genres.
Both films benefited from premium large format presentations, with IMAX delivering franchise-best numbers for Mission: Impossible ($31M) while Lilo & Stitch attracted families to premium screens. This trend reinforces the industry’s strategic pivot toward enhanced experiences that differentiate theatrical viewing from home streaming.
For cinema advertisers, this weekend demonstrated the power of diverse audience appeal. The success across demographics—from nostalgic millennials to action enthusiasts—created multiple engagement touchpoints. Lilo & Stitch’s family-plus-adult appeal and Mission: Impossible’s premium audience proved cinema’s unique ability to deliver both mass reach and targeted demographics in a captive, premium environment.
The weekend’s triumph establishes momentum for what industry analysts predict could be the most robust summer season since before the pandemic. The upcoming slate includes:
The combination of franchise filmmaking, premium experiences, and global appeal demonstrates that when Hollywood delivers quality content, audiences respond enthusiastically across all markets. Both films proved that theatrical experiences remain irreplaceable—whether through nostalgic emotional connections or breathtaking practical stunts.
The message is clear: cinema remains irreplaceable, and summer 2025 is positioned to be one for the record books, offering unprecedented opportunities for both exhibitors and advertisers to connect with engaged global audiences.
Sources: Deadline, Box Office Mojo, The Hollywood Reporter
