Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) ordered the construction of 15 cinemas in Riyadh, with a cost estimated at 20 million dollars, top secret sources revealed.
The sources confirmed that the head of the Entertainment Authority, Counselor Turki Al-Sheikh presented a detailed construction plan to MBS in a meeting at his yacht.
It was earlier revealed that the Saudi Public Investment Fund, headed by CMBS, will buy out AMC Entertainment Holdings’ investment in the movie theater venture for $30 million.
AMC will sell its investment to Saudi Entertainment Ventures, known as SEVEN, which is operated by the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
The deal dates back to 2017, when AMC entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia to explore bringing theatrical exhibitions to the Kingdom for the first time since the 1980s.
AMC hosted the country’s first movie screening in 2018 at King Abdullah Financial District, Riyadh. It partnered with Saudi Entertainment Ventures to form SCC to develop and operate additional locations across the Kingdom.
SEVEN will be responsible for managing and operating 85 cinema screens across the Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority has now provided 4,198 permits for entertainment events, along with 3,370 permits for live performances in restaurants and cafés.
AMC reported more than $5 billion in long-term debt at the end of the second quarter. That total climbs to more than $10 billion when including lease obligations and other long-term liabilities.
Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars hosting massive entertainment and cultural events in a deliberate attempt to whitewash the country’s abysmal human rights record, and the Middle Best concert in Riyadh and the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah are no different.
Electronic music, strobe lights, glittered faces and hundreds of thousands of people in mixed-gender gyrations are all part of a new kind of ritual in Saudi Arabia that didn’t exist just a few years ago.
Growing anger has been reported among Saudi social media activists over MBS’ economic plans declared since he took office in 2017, holding him responsible for the deteriorating economic situation despite the high oil prices.
This came after a footage went viral on social media, showing two Saudi women selling vegetables to feed their children.
