It can cost more than $30 to see a film in Saudi Arabia but, according to Muvi Cinemas’ CEO Adon Quinn, prices are coming down as the exhibition
It can cost more than $30 to see a film in Saudi Arabia but, according to Muvi Cinemas’ CEO Adon Quinn, prices are coming down as the exhibition sector looks to make filmgoing more affordable.
“For us, our average ticket price is just under $13,” said the Muvi CEO. “We have taken steps to extend the affordability of cinema across the Kingdom. It is our more premium experiences where they [tickets] go up to $35 for our VIP offering.”
Quinn spoke to Screen in the week Muvi opened its first Imax screen in Jeddah’s Mall of Arabia, with three further Imax screens planned across other locations. The exhibitor’s aim now is to push local movies. Saudi action-comedy Ambulance will be Imax’s first Arabic-language feature and will be seen on the up-to-date screen next year. This week, Muvi is giving a major release to Abdulaziz Almuzaini’s satire Lail Nahar.
When it comes to international features, Quinn said that different kinds of films are proving popular with audiences. This summer, Will Smith/Martin Lawrence cop comedy sequel Bad Boys: Ride Or Die became the highest grossing film in Saudi history.
“Last year, the biggest release was Oppenheimer which was something we probably didn’t expect to perform so well, so we have a very discerning cinema audience in Saudi,” said. Quinn. He also noted that female cinema goers now account for more than 50% of tickets sold at Muvi sites; a revealing figure in a patriarchal society where public movie theatres have only been open since 2018.
“We are going to get to that stage in the next two or three years where [the Saudi box office] is going to be 50% Arabic, made up of Egyptian and Saudi ([films],” he continued. “This year, we will probably end up with 37% of [Saudi] box office being for Arabic [films].”
Muvi’s production arm, Muvi Studios, is catering to that growing local demand by investing heavily in Saudi production.
“We have multiple projects at different phases,” said Quinn. “In the next 12 to 15 months there will be another 10 to 12 films that will be released in theatres.”
While the Muvi production slate is predominantly made up of comedy, it is also producing its first horror film.
Muvi operates 196 screens across 21 locations in the Kingdom, and is looking to open a further 70 screens over the next 15 months.
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