Majid Al Futtaim to expand cinema operations to 10 Saudi cities by end of 2022

Ignace Lahoud, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas and Leisure & Entertainment

Majid Al Futtaim is planning to expand its cinema operations in Saudi Arabia to 10 cities from current six cities by the end of 2022.

“We believe we can triple our size in the next five years, and that is basically part of our expansion plan”, Ignace Lahoud, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas and Leisure & Entertainment, said during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference.

Majid Al Futtaim has developed a five-year strategy, under which it will continue its expansion gradually in the same cities where it already has presence or seize any opportunity in finding new cities as well.

Replying to a question about the number of target cities and venues, Lahoud said, “In the next three years we will double where we are today [in terms of venues], and then the following two years, it will depend on performance”, without giving any further details about the number of cities.

A lot of studies a few years ago placed the potential in the Saudi market for about 2,000 Cinemas, Lahoud said, adding “We're very far as an industry from being there.”

Speaking about local content production, he added that 10% of the content in Saudi Arabia is Arabic film and it accounts for over 25% of the box office.

“Clearly, there is a very strong hunger for local content, there is a very high quality of local content and there is an emerging generation of young and talented creators, so we want to be at the centre of the industry promoting the young talent,” he affirmed.

Cinema industry is a way of expanding the culture beyond the borders and boundaries, Lahoud concluded.

Majid Al Futtaim this week broke ground officially at Mall of Saudi project in Riyadh, Argaam earlier reported.

VOX Cinemas, the dedicted cinema arm of Majid Al Futtaim, currently has a total of 154 screens across 15 movie theatres in six cities.

Write to Nashwa Farouk: nashwa.farouk@argaam.com