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Al Hokair wants you to catch a movie at your local cinemaMENA

Al Hokair wants you to catch a movie at your local cinema

Calling all popcorn junkies! Al Mohsen Al Hokair Group, which owns Luxury Entertainment, just announced it opened two new movie theatres in Saudi Arabia as part of their plan to expand its cinema business across the country in the coming years. The two cinemas opened on Monday in Dammam and Jeddah.

For those who don’t know, movie theatres were only reintroduced in Saudi Arabia back in 2018 when Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman lifted bans across several industries, including entertainment. The Kingdom’s modernization plan (a.k.a. “Vision 2030”) saw its first cinemas open in April 2018, with many more following since. Cinemas were also opened in 2020, despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the industry.

It is not yet known how much Al Hokair invested in the new projects, but the company did say that their financial impact will show on their first quarter’s financial statements.

why it matters
Al Hokair’s move shows that the entertainment industry is optimistic about the future and confident that pre-COVID forms of live entertainment, such as movie theatres, are still a booming business opportunity. This is also in line with other MENA countries’ decisions to reopen, bringing some much-needed hope to the markets.