‘Black Panther’ to break Saudi Arabia’s 35-year cinema ban

Saudi Arabia is set to witness the opening of the first cinema in more than 35 years today in Riyadh, after agreeing with AMC Entertainment Holdings to open up to 40 theatres over the next five years.

The first screening will be the movie ‘Black Panther’. In a launch event that will be a private screening, and the cinema is set to open to the public in May. However, tickets for movies will be available to public later this month through an online ticketing system.

The first cinema will be located in the King Abdullah Financial District, with the main theater having about 500 leather seats, orchestra and balcony levels and marble bathrooms. Three more screens will be added by mid-summer.

To serve a population of more than 32 million, most of whom are under the age of 30, Saudi Arabia wants plans to open around 350 cinemas with over 2,500 screens by 2030, in hopes of it attracting nearly $1 billion in annual ticket sales.