12-screen cinema to open in Jeddah by end of year

The Red Sea Mall will have the primary film to open in Jeddah following the choice in December 2017 by the General Authority for Audiovisual Media (GCAM) to revive films in the Kingdom. 

Mohammed Al-Asiri, the mall’s marketing manager, said "We are expecting the opening to be by the end of this year.”

He added that the cinema, operated by regional company Vox, occupies an 8,000-square-meter space and will have 1,472 seats in 12 halls, including standard and VIP halls, an IMAX screen, a 4DX auditorium with motion-controlled seats, and halls for children.

“There will also be special seats for people with special needs,” said Al-Asiri. “The standard halls will contain 165 or 130 seats, there will be 48 seats in each of the golden (VIP) halls, the IMAX hall will have up to 280 seats, the 4DX hall will have 62 seats, and there will be 66 seats in each of the halls allocated for children.

“The IMAX screen is about 13 meters long and is 24 meters tall, which is equivalent to 10 regular displays, according to experts. This technology has the ability to film and display movies with greater size and accuracy than any traditional film system.”

Ticket prices, Al-Asiri said, will be set according to rules and regulations set by the relevant authorities. “Tickets will be sold both online and on site, with the option to select desired seats,” he added.

Regarding the choice of movies to screen, he said: “There is certainly no specific quality but the focus will be on family movies in general.” He added that the chosen films will reflect community values in the Kingdom and the tastes of all age groups.

The cinema is a piece of a development at the shopping center that incorporates other stimulation offices and an expansive number of eateries and coffeehouses. A source in the shopping center said that Gate No. 9, sitting above King Abdul Aziz Road, will be named the "Amusement Gate" as it will be the fundamental passage for the film. 

Al-Asiri said that the shopping center had consented to an arrangement with Vox, a Majid Al Futtaim organization, which he portrayed as one of the district's driving film administrators. 

"Vox film will contribute SR2 billion ($530 million) in the (Saudi) film industry to create up to 600 screens, and will give 3,000 openings for work throughout the following five years to add to accomplishing an objective of Vision 2030 to differentiate the neighborhood economy and yield," he included.