Saudi Thriller ‘Mandoob’ Beats ‘Wonka’ to Score Record Local Opening
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi Arabian thriller “Mandoob,” about a struggling man who becomes an illegal booze runner, beat “Wonka” over the weekend to top the Saudi box office chart while also scoring the biggest opening to date for a local film in the territory.
The groundbreaking Saudi movie, which world-premiered positively in Toronto in September – and more recently bowed regionally at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah – tallied 114,000 admissions and a $1.58 million gross box office intake following its Dec.
14 release. This puts the film way ahead of Warner Bros’ “Wonka,” in second place with roughly 38,000 admissions and a $616,000 total, and Studio Ghibli’s “The Boy and the Heron,” which came in third, according to figures provided by distributor Front Row Arabia.
In “Mandoob,” which is directed by Saudi cinema pioneer Ali Kalthami and produced by studio Telfaz11, which he co-founded, protagonist Fahad is fired from his job in a call center and becomes a booze runner, plunging into the depths of Riyadh’s underworld as he battles adversity to save his ailing father.
Read more on variety.com