For the first time in 35 years, US movie giant AMC Entertainment Holdings, the first company to obtain a license to operate cinemas in Saudi Arabia screened a Hollywood movie for the audience of Riyadh, who saw a lift on movie-ban just five months ago. This year's biggest blockbuster Black Panther was screened in the trail runs before movie theatres opened to the wider public next month. A statement from the Saudi Arabian government on the event goes,
"It will be the first in a series of test screenings, attended by industry specialists, that will be held... to support final preparations for the opening of the cinema to the wider public,"
The move to reopen cinemas is part of a modernisation drive brought about by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is trying to bring in entertainment options as compensation to reduction in oil prices. Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture and Information has estimated that Cinemas in Saudi Arabia will create more than 30,000 full-time jobs, in addition to 130,000 part-time jobs by the year 2030.
This move is also expected to bring in the culture of movie reviews in the country, who have not had cinema for the past 3 plus decades. AMC plans to open up to 40 cinemas in 15 cities in Saudi Arabia over the next five years, and a total of 50-100 cinemas in approximately 25 Saudi cities by 2030. For noe, the Saudi government have a set of films follow Black Panther including an edited version of The Avengers.