First Jeddah Vox Cinema to open January 28

Saudis gather at a cinema theatre in Riyadh Park mall after its opening for the general public on April 30, 2018 in the Saudi capital. (File/AFP)

• The cinema’s grand opening at the Red Sea Mall will be held at 6:30 p.m. local time
• Vox Cinemas announced it would be investing $533 million to open 600 theaters in the next five years

DAVOS: Vox Cinemas will be opening its doors in Jeddah on Jan 28 for the first time since the ban was lifted in 2018.

Alain Bejjani, CEO of Al Futtaim, told Arab News at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The cinema’s grand opening at the Red Sea Mall will be held at 6:30 p.m. local time, where a ribbon cutting ceremony will be held with entertainment and a movie screening.

Last year, Vox Cinemas announced it would be investing $533 million to open 600 theaters in the next five years.

Cinemas had been banned for 35 years until the first cinema in the Kingdom opened on April 18, 2018, in Riyadh.

This comes as part of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s Vision 2030 initiative which has been pushing for social reform and broadening the economy to reduce its reliance on oil to tackle youth unemployment.