The News
A local film is reviving enthusiasm for the moviegoing experience in Saudi Arabia — and just in time.
Box office sales have been falling in the kingdom since a 2022 peak after the ban on cinemas was lifted in 2018. But Saudi filmmaker Abdulaziz Alshlahei’s drama Hobal is approaching the Saudi box office record of $10.8 million.
“This year will be a critical one for Saudi films,” critic Ahmed al-Ayyad told the Financial Times. “There is a whole generation of filmmakers who grew up in the era of cinematic openness, and a whole generation of audiences who do not remember what it was like to travel to Bahrain or Dubai.”
Meanwhile, the movie business is alive and well in NEOM, where a 40% cash rebate on production has lured at least 40 local and international filmmakers in its first four years, according to Al Arabiya, which was allowed rare access.