AMC, the world’s largest theatrical exhibitor, is changing its business plans for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In 2017, AMC announced it had entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, with the intention of exploring the possibility of bringing theatrical exhibition to the Kingdom for the first time since the 1980s. AMC hosted the country’s first movie screening on 18 April 2018 in Riyadh. It partnered with the PIF’s Saudi Entertainment Ventures (SEVEN) to form SCC in order to develop and operate additional locations across the Kingdom.

AMC has reached an agreement to transition from a management and investment role in the Saudi Cinema Company (SCC) to a pure licensing relationship. This is how most outside the company already believed AMC was operating in Saudi Arabia, but this certainly makes it official.

The current AMC Cinemas and future locations operated by SCC will retain the AMC Cinemas name and other IP through a licensing agreement. As part of the agreement, SEVEN will buy-out AMC’s $30 million dollar investment in SCC, giving the American exhibitor a cash boost.