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AFTER THE GOLD RUSH
The state of cinema in Saudi Arabia In 2018, the first cinema for 35 years opened within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — and interest in the market has been febrile ever since. Mike Thomson looks at the realities of a mass multiplex building programme.
UST OVER 18 MONTHS AGO, in August 2018, a new cinema opened in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the first for over 35 years. Except it wasn’t a true cinema, but in the words of one Vox exec a “pop-up”, converting a theatre into a one-screen cinema. However, it signified a change in Saudi culture and was the first signs of a territory re-opening its doors. Saudi citizens had to travel to another country to see films up until then. The floodgates were open and numerous operators announced they were going to open in KSA. The market was seen as one of a few left untapped — a boom was on its way.
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