Majority of Saudi residents plan to visit movie theatres: survey

Eighty percent of Saudi residents have welcomed the country's move to lift the 35-year ban on commercial cinemas, with 67 percent planning to visit the movie threatres, according to research agency Kantar TNS.

The survey, which was released on Monday, found the announcement was received the most positively by the youth in the Kingdom.

The development of the Saudi entertainment sector will create new employment opportunities, the report said, adding that as multiple entertainment options emerge, travel to UAE and Bahrain is likely to reduce.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Culture and Information announced that Saudi Arabia’s first commercial cinemas could open as early as March next year.

Following the announcement, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with US-based AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. to explore commercial opportunities in the entertainment sector. Many oter global and regional companies also expressed interest in opening cinemas in the Kingdom.

Last week, Red Sea Markets Ltd Co. executive board member Aidrous Al Bar told Argaam that the decision would boost the entertainment sector and open doors for new partnerships and investment opportunities from abroad.

For marketers, the step will provide a new platform in cinema advertising, giving further exposure to their brands on a mass scale, Kantar TNS said.

However, television advertising may be "negatively impacted, particularly during weekends,” the consultancy noted. While malls will find new utility value, those without cinemas are likely to see a decline in footfall, the report said.

Ninety percent of Saudi residents said they plan to visit malls with cinemas more often. Mall operators, however, will have to bear in mind the travel time as the majority of the survey’s respondents said they expect to travel no more than 30 minutes to watch a movie.

The survey also revealed that mall operators will have work hard to fill matinee slots, with demand heavily oriented towards the 7 pm to 10 pm slot.

“Due to the significance of this change, we anticipate a huge turnout in initial days and weeks.  In an extremely connected society, supporters of the change want to be part of the historic re-opening, and more than half of those wishing to go the movies plan to do so in the opening week," said Stephen Hillebrand, CEO at Kantar Insights, MENAP. 

According to the report, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will have strike a delicate balance since potential movie-goers have expressed significant interest in viewing foreign films as well as the action and adventure genre. Thus, getting content and censorship right will be key to the growth of the sector. 

Despite the dominant influence of foreign content however, Saudi media and creativity have an opportunity to grow. Thirty-six percent of respondents said they plan to view local Saudi content, with the figure rising to 48 percent for Arabic content in general.