#BornAKing

British-Arabic historical coming-of-age drama “Born a King” has topped box offices in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf since its release on Thursday. There were 59,000 viewers in the first week, 30,000 of them in Saudi Arabia. From the first scene of the movie, the audience travels back in time to 1919. With most of the viewers from Saudi Arabia, the film takes them to the roots of their nation.

The audience is shown what Saudi Arabia was like at the time. The houses are made of clay, and the film is filled with beautiful landscapes.

“Born a King” was partly shot in Riyadh and Ad Diriyah, and sees a teenage Faisal, who later became king of Saudi Arabia, as the young hero sent by his father to lead negotiations in

London, with his nation’s pieces displayed along the

Toronto waterfront. Regional artist Abbas Akhavan, represented by a Dubai-based art gallery, is participating at the event with the “study for a garden” piece.

•The

Dubai Opera is celebrating 50 years of fictional British secret agent James Bond, with a screening of Sam Mendes’ “Skyfall.” The 23rd film in the fate resting on his shoulders. @naif22987 tweeted: “Amazing, a lot of work has been put into this. King Faisal — Allah bestow mercy on his soul — deserves to have his efforts shown to the world. So do King Saud, Khalid, Fahad and Abdullah. They each have their work and notable efforts. We want more work that shows Saudi kings, and this will be a great leap for the next generations.” @7son_90 tweeted: “I saw the movie. It honestly is beautiful. I advise everyone to see it.”

@WaleedSliman tweeted: “The soundtracks are out of this world.” @AmooxA_ tweeted: “I wish there are more films such as this about the Arabian peninsula.”

@buae717 tweeted: “A

Great Historical Movie Recommended.”

@No115y tweeted: “I give it a 10/10. Great performance from the cast, worth watching.” popular spy series sees 007 investigate an attack on MI6, and the special showing will highlight the city venue’s state-of-the-art display and acoustics.

•Indian

comedians Neville Shah and Sorabh Pant are performing their “Front Row Laughter Nights” routine tonight at the Emirates International School in Dubai.