Saudi Cinema Chain Vox Invests in Country’s Future Filmmakers and Theaters
Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentLast December, during the inaugural Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Vox Cinemas announced plans to produce 25 Arabic movies with budgets under $10 million over the next five years.Variety spoke to Ignace Lahoud, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Leisure, Entertainment and Cinemas, which owns Vox, about how this aligns with the company’s wider commitment to boost the region’s burgeoning film industry while also making Vox less dependent on Hollywood. The following has been edited for length.What is a big takeaway from the Saudi market so far?Interestingly, what we are seeing is that some of the big Hollywood blockbusters in recent months maybe did not perform up to expectation for a country like Saudi.