Saudi’s award AMC contract to open movie theaters
AMC to Open First International Movie Theater in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
In line with Vision 2030’s diversification efforts, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture and Information has awarded the first license to operate an international-based movie theater in the country to AMC Theatres, which will allow the largest company of its kind to operate cinemas in the Kingdom.
AMC will open the doors of its first Saudi theater in the capital, Riyadh, on April 18, 2018. The cinema’s opening follows an MOU signed between AMC and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) back in November of 2017.
The move also follows an announcement made in December of 2017 that cinemas would be operational this year.
Mr. Adam Aron, AMC CEO, iterated that his company is following developments in the Kingdom, and is excited at the projects that aim to open up new economic sectors, particularly in the creative fields. He also mentioned that the company had received a warm welcome from all the institutions with which it has dealt.
The long-term aim is for 30-40 AMC cinemas to open in 15 cities across the Kingdom within the next 5 years, and 50-100 cinemas in an estimated 25 cities by 2030.
The opening of movie theatres will also open-up a local market to annual ticket sales of up to $ 1 billion, which will in turn encourage other leading chains to enter the market.
Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.
Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).
Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.
Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.
His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.
Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.
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