Saudi cinemas rake in $143m in five years 

A mime actor standing behind a model vintage cinema camera at AMC cinema in Riyadh ahead of the first test film screening. (File/AFP)
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  • More than 10 million tickets sold

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s cinema sector has earned SR535 million ($142.6 million) since the resumption of movie screening in 2018, the General Commission for Audiovisual Media has revealed. 

GCAM said that the Kingdom’s cinema sector is the largest one in the region, with more than seven operators across 21 cities. 

There are more than 64,000 seats in 69 Saudi movie theaters, and more than 10 million tickets have been sold.

According to GCAM, the highest-grossing picture at the box office is the American action drama film “Top Gun: Maverick,” which sold more than 1.2 million tickets and grossed SR84 million. 

The Saudi cinema sector recorded a growth of 28 percent during the second quarter of 2023.

Commercial records for film production have surpassed 1,700, up from more than 1,300 at the same time last year, the Ministry of Commerce reported.