Black Panther will be the first movie to break Saudi Arabia's 35-year long cinema ban
In a path-breaking move, the movie 'Black Panther' is all set to break Saudi Arabia's 35-year-long cinema ban. It will be the first movie to be publicly shown in theaters in the conservative country since they banned cinema in the 1980s. The movie will, it doesn't come as a surprise, receive a massive and festive opening.
As reported by Variety, Disney and its Middle East partner, Italia Film will be releasing the superhero movie. The movie will be released in a new AMC-branded movie theater in Riyadh a spokesperson for Italia Films said. The luxurious cinema hall was originally built to be a symphony concert hall but will inaugurate the movie.
The facility is located in Riyadh and features over 600 leather seats on the orchestra and balcony levels. It also features marble luxury bathrooms.
AMC Entertainment is hoping to open up to 40 cinemas and 100 theaters in Saudi Arabia by the year 2030.
Black Panther will be playing for a total period of five days and will be followed by the 'Avengers: Infinity War' which has been given the release date of April 26.
Since its release in February, Black Panther has grossed over $1.2 billion in global sales which makes it the tenth-highest-grossing film in history. The movie also became the most-tweeted-about film which got over 35 million mentions all over the social media platform.
The Saudi Arabian cinema ban took place in the eighties when conservative Islamists were very against the idea of the public mixing of men and women as well as public entertainment. The wave of reforms has come because of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The 32-year-old progressive Royal has also allowed women to drive and has also granted access to concerts and comedy shows over the past year. The Saudi Arabian government has taken to implementing these changes to try and broaden the economy and reduce the dependence on oil.