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Sunday, Aug 24, 2025

Lights, camera, action: Saudi cinemas reopen after coronavirus hiatus

Lights, camera, action: Saudi cinemas reopen after coronavirus hiatus

After the initial panicked scramble to close the doors of Saudi cinemas on March 11, movie theaters are making a partial comeback, with two of the Kingdom’s three major players now taking ticket bookings and operating with limited capacity.
Vox Cinemas and Muvi Cinemas are both open for bookings again, while AMC Cinemas has yet to announce a date for reopening. Majid Al-Futtaim, the parent company of Vox, announced on Sunday that its cinemas, as well as its Little Explorers, Magic Planet and Yalla! Bowling locations had reopened across the Kingdom following the recent government directive from the General Commission for Audiovisual Media.

Mohamed Al-Hashemi, the country manager of Majid Al-Futtaim Ventures, said that the Vox team had been working hard to ensure that safety procedures were strictly in place, based on government direction and customer feedback.

“We will ensure a best-in-class experience in the Kingdom across our experiences with health, safety and customer satisfaction at the core of our reopening plans,” he said.

The safety measures implemented by Vox include enhanced cleaning procedures such as the use of fogging machines to disinfect large areas, sanitizing frequently used surfaces like counters, points of sale, payment terminals, and self-service kiosks, enforced social distancing policies, and new contactless payment options.

Muvi, which is Saudi Arabia’s first home-grown cinema brand, also announced an extensive sanitization plan, with staff undergoing detailed hygiene training, disinfection of frequently used surfaces, seats and public places, and fumigations and deep-cleaning of auditoriums after each show.

Muvi’s theaters are also operating with a limited capacity and guests are only allowed to use contactless payments.
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