BLACK PANTHER Is Set To Become The First Film To Publicly Screen In Saudi Arabia In Over 35 Years
Not content with clawing its way through the box office, Marvel and Ryan Coogler's critically-acclaimed Black Panther is now set to become the first movie to screen in a Saudi Arabian cinema in 35 years...
Marvel's Black Panther is set to make history yet again.
The Ryan Coogler-helmed superhero flick will break Saudi Arabia’s 35-year cinema ban when it screens on April 18 in an AMC movie theatre in Riyadh with a gala premiere. This marks the first public screening in the kingdom since movie theaters where banned in the early '80s, after Saudi Arabia adopted ultraconservative religious standards in 1979.
The ban was lifted last December by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a bid to bring positive changes to Saudi society. This is only the beginning, too, as AMC Entertainment expects to have up to 40 cinemas up and running in Saudi Arabia within five years.
The fact that Black Panther was chosen for this honour is a testament to the true cultural phenomenon the film has become.
UPDATE: It's come to our attention that The Emoji Movie was actually the first feature to publicly screen in SA back in January - although it wasn't in a theater, since none were built at the time. Still, it does somewhat diminish that Wakandan thunder!
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Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.