'Black Panther' Packs Theater for Historic Showing in Saudi Arabia

Black Panther officially added another achievement to its very long list today. The Marvel [...]

By Nicole Drum

Black Panther officially added another achievement to its very long list today. The Marvel Cinematic Universe film was the first film to receive a theatrical screening in Saudi Arabia in 35-years and the seats were packed for this momentous occasion.

Saudi Arabia began observing very conservative regulations as part of its growing push towards religious values back in 1979. This lead to movie theater closures in the early 1980s, but back in December, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced that the ban on theatrical movies was being lifted. Today, that lift happened with an AMC-branded theater in Riyadh screening Black Panther to a full house. You can check out a look at how full the screening was below.

As Saudi Arabia has nearly 23 million citizens under the age of 30, the nation could end up a massive foreign market for movies with some estimating annual revenue around $1 billion. This would make Saudi Arabia among the top 10 theatrical foreign markets. AMC Entertainment is looking to open up 40 theaters there within the year and is planning for a total of 100 within the next five years.

As for Black Panther being the first film screened in the nation for over three decades, it's a fitting choice. The film has had massive worldwide financial success and also features multi-cultural themes that show the evolution of traditional values. It's a film that fits nicely into Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman's hope of transforming Saudi Arabia's values.

At the global box office, Black Panther has pushed Disney's Frozen out of the top 10 all-time earners. Avatar, Titanic, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens take up the top three spots, being the only three films to cross the coveted $2 billion barrier. Jurassic World, Marvel's The Avengers, Furious 7, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi make up the rest of the top 10.

In regard to domestic box office charts, Black Panther is currently in the third spot behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Avatar standing in its way.

Black Panther is in theaters now.

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