Saudi Arabia Archives - Celluloid Junkie

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Moderator Antoine Khalife, Saudi producer and director Aymen Khoja and Egyptian writer and producer Mohammed Hefzy

The State of Arab and Saudi Cinema Takes Center Stage at Cannes’ Marché du Film

On 21 May, the Marina Stage of Cannes’ Marché du Film hosted a conference organized by the Saudi Arabia Film Commission. The event, moderated by Antoine Khalife, explored the current state of Arab and Saudi Cinema and saw the participation of Mecca-born producer and director Aymen Khoja (“Rupture”)…

Swiss Hotel Istanbul

CJ Interviews: Rob Arthur – DCS Events / Emerging Cinema Markets Conference

While cinemas in the Gulf region have been growing for several years, the announcement that Saudi Arabia is opening up its market to multiplexes has led to a surge in interest, with everyone from AMC and Cinepolis to Carnival and Vue clamouring for a piece of the local cinema action. This month…

ComScore-2018-summer-box-office-historic

Cinema News Digest – Wednesday 5 September 2018

Dear Junkies, “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful,” Warren Buffett once told investors. So what does the Sage of Omaha’s advice tell us about this summer’s domestic (i.e US) box office? Substitute ‘greedy’ for ‘jubilant…

Saudi Arabia Cinema screening

Cinema News Digest – Friday 9 March 2018

Saudia Arabia issues cinema licences; Lotte to spin off cinemas; US $1bn BO February; Samsung Cinema LED insights; Cinemark Movie Club 120K member; Vue’s Tim Richards interviewed; Indian cinema growth; VPF revolt in south India; Côté Cinema becomes BoxOfficeFrance; MoviePass CPO hired; Comedie…

Amy Miles of Regal Cinema

Cinema News Digest – Monday 26 January 2018

Miles & Co. exit Regal; “Black Panther” augers well for 2018; 10 Saudi cinemas to open in March; Samsung Cinema LED screen coming to LA; Russian cinema fined for “Death of Stalin”; Aussies protest tax money for cinema; more films dubbed in Poland; iPic IPO raises $15m; CJ…

Vue CEO Tim Richards

Vue Makes Plans to Open 30 Cinemas in Saudi Arabia

It’s official. The Saudi Arabian cinema land rush has officially begun. A mere two months after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia officially allowed for the opening and operation of new commercial cinemas for the first time since the 1970s, the country has at least three exhibitors vying to compete in the…

Yelp Luxury Cinema Madrid

Cinema News Digest – Thursday 18 January 2018

Dear Junkies, Average ticket price in the US went up 3.69% to USD $8.97 in 2017. Cue usual hysterical headlines (THR: ‘Average Price of a Movie Ticket Soars to $8.97 in 2017‘ – really, “soars”?), particularly when coupled with the drop in admissions. And, yes, this is t…

"Avengers: Infinity War - Part I" - leading the charge for 2018.

Cinema News Digest – Thursday 4 January 2018

Dear Junkies, As we start the new year, we can look back on an eventful 2017 that had everything from AMC’s nosediving share-price and Saudi Arabia lifting the ban on cinemas to the Mouse-devours-Fox stunner that ended the year. If you want to read our predictions of what lies ahead in 2018 th…

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C) and Managing Director of International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde (L) attend the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh, on October 24, 2017. The Crown Prince pledged a "moderate, open" Saudi Arabia, breaking with ultra-conservative clerics in favour of an image catering to foreign investors and Saudi youth. "We are returning to what we were before -- a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world," he said at the economic forum in Riyadh. / AFP PHOTO / FAYEZ NURELDINE (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images)

Cinema is Coming to Saudi Arabia – Winners and Losers

Saudi Arabia is to allow cinema after 35 years of absence. The first cinemas could open as soon as March of 2018, with several operators vying for prime position. The aim is to have 2,000 screens in over 300 cinemas by 2030 in the country of over 32 million inhabitants. Below we examine the prospect…

Sydeny's Mov'in Bed cinema. (image: movinbed.com)

CJ Cinema News Digest – Friday 27 October 2017

Dear Junkies, The month before the Harvey Weinstein scandal exploded in Hollywood, the cinema industry was grappling with its own mini-Weinsteins. There was the Los Angels theatre Cinefamily sexual misconduct allegations, there was Alamo Drafthouse’s re-hiring of sexual harasser Devin Faraci a…