‘Black Panther’ wows Saudi Arabia
Screening of first movie in almost 40 years called ‘historical’ by excited cinemagoers
Dozens of Saudi families flocked to the movies on Friday for the first time in almost 40 years after the lifting of a ban on a form of entertainment once deemed corrupting.
Tickets for the American superhero movie
Black Panther went on sale online at midnight for 75 riyals (Dh73) and sold out within minutes. Excited cinemagoers posed for selfies in the foyer and stood in line for popcorn.
“It’s like a historical event that happened here,” said Mana, an usher at the movie theatre in the King Abdullah Financial District, a new development in northern Riyadh.
Movie houses were closed in the early 1980s when they were deemed inconsistent with a strict interpretation of Islam.
They are now returning through a drive by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman to open the country culturally and diversify its economy. He has eased other social restrictions, including on public concerts, women driving and gender mixing.
Before the main feature, the audience watched a short on the history of film, a clip from
a US television interview with Prince Mohammad, and an advertisement for Coca-Cola featuring women driving.
The choice of movie was not random.
“It is the story of a young prince who transforms a great nation,” Adam Aron, chief executive of the theatre operator AMC Entertainment Holding said at a VIP screening on Wednesday. “That might sound familiar to a few of you.”
Two scenes of kissing appeared to have been cut from the Black Panther screening.
Vox Cinemas, owned by Dubai’s Majid Al Futtaim, said on Thursday it had received a licence to operate cinemas and would open a four-screen multiplex theatre in Riyadh “in the coming days”.