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Black Panther Was The First Movie To Be Shown In Saudi Cinema Yesterday And Moviegoers LOVED It

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(Image Credits: @SPAGov)

Last night was a historic moment for a lot of Saudis after the first theatre screenings took place in Riyadh, a joy the rest of the Kingdom can soon share once cinemas open publicly in May. The opening at the AMC in King Abdullah’s Financial District was limited to 500 invite-only guests, that included officials and executives, such as HRH Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud.

Women and men were able to sit together at the gala screening

The U.S.’ largest movie theatre company, AMC, brought the Hollywood blockbuster Black Panther to Saudi screens on Wednesday. Women and men were able to sit together, reported Saudi Gazette. The ‘no segregation’ will continue until cinemas are publicly launched in May. By then, people will have the choice between a mixed or gender-segregated theatres halls.

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Black Panther was the movie choice for screening and moviegoers totally enjoyed it 

Several of the influencers, officials and even Princess Reema herself enjoyed not just the movie but the event as a whole. In a report by The NY Times, most of the audience loved Black Panther, while others had no clue what it was going to be about but just wanted to come to the event itself and that this lessens the hassle of having to drive to either Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates. 

“Just realised it’s now easier to go to the movie theatre in Saudi than in the area I grew up in the U.S.”

Mood:

“This is a historical moment. I cant describe how happy I am, sitting with my son and watching a movie in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

– Princess Reema bint Bandar al Saud

People were organised into check-in desks upon arriving to the cinema halls 

The private screening was also an organised one, complete with mimes for entertainment, LOTS of popcorn and queues segregated in alphabetical order. Fancy.

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A presentation of the history of cinema and wise words from Crown Prince MBS was displayed before the movie 

How truly inspiring.

AMC’s Vice-President Jason Cole talks about making history with cinemas’ return to the Kingdom.

via Arab News.

In his own words, Crown Prince MBS spoke about when cinemas were in the Kingdom prior to the ban

“We were living a very normal life like the rest of the Gulf countries. Women were driving cars, there were movie theatres in Saudi Arabia, women worked everywhere. We were normal people developing like any other country in the world until the events of 1979.”

The decision to lift the 35-year ban on cinemas was announced last year, making Crown Prince MBS’ goals for Vision 2030 a fast-approaching success. The return of cinemas is just one of the many ways Saudi intends to be less dependent on oil revenue and boost the Kingdom’s entertainment sector. 

READ MORE: The World’s Biggest Cinema Chain Has Just Signed A Deal To Build Cinemas In Saudi

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