The cinema industry successfully ushered global audiences back into theatre in 2022 largely owing to the steadier flow of blockbusters in comparison to 2021, with Top Gun: Maverick, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Avatar: The Way of Water leading the long list of successful titles this year.
While 2021 was a dress rehearsal for the future of cinemas, 2022 has proved that cinema is back for real. This was especially evident in Saudi Arabia, when the country overtook Italy in annual box office revenue (in US$ terms), highlighting the prominence of cinema in the region.
Box office in 2022 had its first test with Scream which grossed nearly US$1M in the UAE alone and marked the successful return of the horror genre in the region since the pandemic. This was followed by the chartbuster performance of Matt Reeve’s The Batman, which earned a combined US$12M in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which earned US$6.7M in the UAE.
Summer blockbusters highly contributed to the recovery of the global box office in 2022, with Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick grossing a combined US$21.2M in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and over US$1.5 billion globally. Jurassic World: Dominion and Minions: The Rise of Gru also performed well, grossing over US$1.7M and US$1.64M in UAE and Saudi Arabia, respectively.
August to October was a challenging phase for cinemas in the region due to a weaker movie release schedule owing to pandemic-related delays. The year however ended on a high note with the release of James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, which earned close to US$10M in the UAE in its opening weeks. Arabic titles such as Bahebek, 3amohom, and Men Agl Zeko also topped the 2022 charts across GCC.
Here’s our 2022 wrap-up featuring the top movie releases in the eight countries we cover, the most watched genres across the region, the top 15 cinema ads booked through us that lit up the big screen, and last but not least, the new cinema locations added to our circuit and our milestones:
UAE
Saudi Arabia
Egypt
Oman
Kuwait
Bahrain
Qatar
Lebanon
The 15 blockbuster ads (in no particular order) – booked through Motivate Val Morgan, that lit up the big screen in 2022 (also featured in Campaign Middle East):
Brand: Mercedes-Benz Burmester
Title: Innovations by Mercedes-Benz: Dolby Atmos
Media Agency: OMD
Brand: NEOM
Title: Trojena – Journey To New Heights
Media Agency: Starcom
Brand: Emirates
Title: Gerry the Goose Flies Better
Media Agency: UM MENA
Brand: Rolex
Title: Rolex & Cinema – The Path
Media Agency: Mindshare
Brand: Sephora
Title: Amna Al Qubaisi – Emirati F3 Driver – Redefining Beauty with Sephora
Media Agency: Spark Foundry – Publicis Media
Brand: Malabar Gold
Title: Brides of India
Brand: Hermès
Title: Terre d’Hermès
Media Agency: Havas Media
Brand: Thailand Tourism
Title: Amazing Thailand
Media Agency: Media Republic
Brand: Hayatna
Title: Grow Your World With Hayatna
Media Agency: Hearts & Science
Brand: Riyadh Book Fair
Media Agency: Blue Horizon
Brand: Infiniti QX60
Title: Take the Wheel
Media Agency: OMD
Brand: Jindal Shadeed
Media Agency: United Media Services
Brand: Theeb
Brand: Yas Island
Title: Yas Yas Baby
Media Agency: Initiative Media
Brand: Al Nahdi Pharmacies
2022 saw our cinema circuit expand with several new locations:
Our dedicated cinema buying platform – CinePlan and CineMeasure, was launched, which enables data-driven, audience-based buying across our network of cinemas in the Middle East. The platform was also recognized as one of Campaign Middle East’s Top 10 Media Milestones of 2022.
Get ready for an exciting year at the movies in 2023! Here are the top 20 movies to look forward to over the year ahead:
For more on the movies coming out in 2023, be sure to check out our sizzle reel
Thirteen experts will lead the Dubai Lynx juries to award outstanding creativity in branded communications from across MENA
Dubai Lynx, MENA’s premier Festival and Awards for creative excellence in branded communications, has announced the thirteen industry experts who will lead the 2022 juries.
The Jury Presidents will judge work entered across 20 different categories, including the newly launched Social & Influencer Lynx and refreshed Creative Effectiveness Lynx and PR Lynx.
About the Jury Presidents, Philip Thomas, Chairman, Dubai Lynx, said, “This is an exceptional group of global talent from across a spectrum of disciplines. We are delighted that, together with their juries, they will be responsible for setting the creative bar in the region as they view, discuss and award work from across MENA. It’s a privilege to be working with them and we’re already excited to see the outcome of their judging.”
Ian Fairservice, Vice Chairman of Dubai Lynx, added: “Dubai Lynx, MENA’s premier festival of creativity, is making an eagerly awaited comeback. In 2022, a newly designed two-day learning and development experience will replace the full festival, with a smaller programme of community-focused networking and talks taking place in a number of venues across Dubai.”
The 2022 Dubai Lynx Jury Presidents have been announced as follows:
Brand Experience & Activation Jury President
Malcolm Poynton, Global Chief Creative Officer, Cheil Worldwide, Global
Creative Effectiveness and Creative Strategy Jury President
Nadja Bellan-White, Global Chief Marketing Officer, VICE Media Group, Global
Design and Industry Craft Jury President
Marta Swannie, Senior Creative Director, Superunion, United Kingdom
Direct and Outdoor Jury President
Chaka Sobhani, Global Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett, Global
Digital and Mobile Jury President
Wesley Ter Haar, Co-Founder, Media.Monks, Global
Entertainment Jury President
Asawin Phanichwatana, Deputy Chief Creative Officer, GREYnJ UNITED, Thailand
Film Jury President
Alex Grieve, Chief Creative Officer, AMV BBDO, United Kingdom
Film Craft Jury President
Khalil Bachooali, Founder & Managing Director, Offroad Films, India
Healthcare Jury President
Veronica Trujillo, Managing Director, TBWA\WorldHealth Mexico
Media Jury President
Anna Chitty, CEO, Starcom China
PR Jury President
Kat Thomas, Founder & Global Executive Creative Director, One Green Bean, Global
Print & Publishing and Radio & Audio Jury President
Tseliso Rangaka, Chief Creative Officer, FCB/HC Johannesburg, South Africa
Social & Influencer
Catalin Dobre, Chief Creative Officer McCann Worldgroup Romania & Creative Director McCann CEE, McCann, Romania
The winners of the 2022 awards will be revealed and celebrated at the Dubai Lynx Awards Show. Taking place at Dubai Opera House on 16 March 2022, the black-tie awards dinner is a night of celebration and networking for the whole industry.
Entries into Dubai Lynx are being accepted until 2 February 2022. For further information please visit the Dubai Lynx website
Tickets for the two-day learning and development experience will be available from 26 January 2022.
Source: Dubai Lynx
Etihad Airways – the second-largest airline in the UAE, and the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi booked a one-of-a-kind 3D Mapping cinema campaign – through Spark Foundry (Starcom), at VOX Cinemas Red Sea Mall (Jeddah) in Saudi Arabia.
Campaign Objective:
To promote Abu Dhabi as a destination in Saudi Arabia by using innovative and immersive means of advertising within a cinema environment.
Idea:
The idea behind the campaign was to make use of ‘Projection Mapping’ technology inside the cinema – creating an immersive experience for cinemagoers.
Methodology:
The projection was executed on the main cinema screen along with two side screens (both left and right) to create a screen extension.
Sides of the theatre were covered with a piece of unique fabric to make sure the resolution of the projection matched the quality, look and feel of the main screen.
Four high-grade projectors were used for this activation.
*TAKELEAP – technology agency dedicated to creating sensational experiences, was the production company for this execution.
Content:
Etihad selected four destinations in Abu Dhabi – Ferrari World, Saadiyat Island, Warner Bros and a restaurant, to show a day in Abu Dhabi from a tourist perspective.
The filming – shot in 4K quality, was done over a 2-3 week period at the above mentioned locations and was stitched together to align with the projection mapping and to fit the extended screen.
This first ever 3D mapping cinema campaign in the Middle East ran for a period of one month (between February and March 2019), during evening shows on all days of the week. No statistics were generated for this campaign, however, element of surprise lasted throughout the duration of the campaign.
Here’s the end result:
Seeking to amplify exposure for your brand? Contact us for more information on similar innovative advertising opportunities across our circuit in the Middle East.
Sources: Spark Foundry
Related Articles:
Achieve Greater Brand Impact with 4D Cinema Advertising
Samsung – South Korean multinational electronics company, recently completed 10 years since the launch of its Galaxy S series, and to celebrate this joyful occasion, the brand presented their most recently launched flagship smartphone – Galaxy S10, to select people at various locations across the UAE.
As part of this celebration, an integrated cinema campaign was booked through Motivate Val Morgan, which included an exciting and engaging cinema activation (or as we like to call it – ‘Cinevation’) and a 30 sec. on-screen ‘special position’ advertisement.
Cinevation:
Booked through Cheil, the Cinevation was executed on Friday 1st March 2019 at VOX Cinemas – Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi (6:30 movie session) and Mall of the Emirates in Dubai (7:50pm movie session) – alongside ‘Fighting with my family’ starring Dwayne Johnson and Florence Pugh, and was one of many activations executed by Samsung across the UAE. Other touchpoints included Dubai Football Club, Gemayze, UFC Gym, Carrefour, Knowledge Park and The Dubai Mall.
On-screen advertisement:
In addition to the Cinevation, a ‘special position’ on-screen ad – booked through Starcom MediaVest Group, screened for a period of 4 weeks from 14th February 2019 at VOX Cinemas – Yas Mall (Abu Dhabi), Mall of the Emirates (Dubai) and City Centre Mirdif (Dubai), and Reel Cinemas – The Dubai Mall and Dubai Marina Mall.
Contact us to book similar integrated cinema campaigns in UAE, Lebanon, Oman, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Related Articles:
Uber – Cinema On Screen Campaign and Activation
Carriage | Cinema Brand Activation | VOX Cinemas – Mall of the Emirates
RAK Tourism Development Authority’s Cinema Activation
Source: Samsung
