The movie “Black Panther” is already in the record books as one of the 10 topmost grossing films ever and the highest by a predominantly cast of people of colour. The film is also set to become the first to be shown in Saudi Arabia in 35 years after the kingdom reopens its cinemas.
Saudi Arabia’s cinemas are reopening under the guidance of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32. Vast oil reserves have made the country fantastically wealthy, and Salman is pushing hard to use these riches to restructure the country politically and economically before they run out, as part of a plan dubbed “Vision 2030.”
“Black Panther” is not quite the first film to be shown in Saudi Arabia since the ban on cinemas was lifted. In January, a number of films aimed at children were shown in a makeshift theater in Jiddah at an event sponsored by the Saudi government. According to Reuters, among the films shown was “The Emoji Movie,” an animated film about an imaginary city called Textopolis.
Under a joint plan by AMC and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, the cinema chain expects to open 30 to 40 theaters in approximately 15 cities over the next five years, ultimately opening as many as 100 theaters by 2030.
AMC will be followed by Vue International, a cinema chain based in Britain that announced last month it had signed a deal to open 30 cinemas in Saudi Arabia. Other chains are expected to follow, eager to reach a new market with 33 million potential consumers. John Fithian, president of the Washington-based National Association for Theater Owners, has said the Saudi cinema market could be worth $1 billion in the future.
Cinemas operated in Saudi Arabia in the 20th century; they were opened by Western expats in the 1930s and closed in the 1980s as the country became more conservative. The choice of “Black Panther” to announce the return of cinemas to Saudi Arabia is a good one as the superhero flick which features a fictional African kingdom, Wakanda that uses a mysterious natural resource to rapidly develop, with a young and charismatic prince becoming king and ultimately deciding to use its technological advances and wealth for the good of the greater world.
