Two cinema majors plan nearly 1,000 screens
01 May 2019
With the Saudi entertainment sector set to make investments worth SR267 billion ($71 billion) in building the necessary infrastructure for cinemas, two leading groups from the region – Vox Cinemas and Carnival Cinemas – are planning to open close to 1,000 new screens across the kingdom, said senior experts at the recent Cinema Build KSA Forum in Riyadh.
Vox Cinemas, a subsidiary of UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim, revealed that it has been awarded a second licence to open cinemas in the kingdom. The company is planning to pump in SR2 billion into the kingdom’s entertainment sector for setting up 600 screens over the next five years, which Saudi officials estimate will bring the total number of cinemas in operation to as high as 350 and the number of screens to 2,500 by 2030.
Another big player in the sector, Carnival Cinemas, a multiplex chain in India, is planning to operate more than 300 screens over the next five years in the kingdom.
On the sidelines of Cinema Build KSA Forum, Carnival Cinemas’ managing director Sunil Puthan Veettil, commented on the company’s future expansion plans in Saudi Arabia: “Carnival Cinemas’ mission is to take good quality movie-watching experience close to the people in the country. For this, we have conducted a study of all the provinces and identified several locations, subject to approval.
“Our idea is to move to all these provinces to set up entertainment centres and to make Carnival synonymous with cinema across the country.”
Organised by Eyes of Cities in collaboration with Great Minds Event Management, Cinema Build KSA took the initiative to lead the local cinema industry, and brought together key stakeholders across the design, construction and technology sectors to discuss the latest trends and techniques of building world-class cinemas in Saudi Arabia.
The event revealed a wide range of new building solutions and equipment used in developing future cinemas, multiplexes and malls.
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