The Hollywood blockbuster Black Panther has been screened in Saudi Arabia as the country prepares for the return of cinema after more than 35 years.
A handout picture provided by the Saudi Royal Palace on 18 April shows a mime actor standing behind a model vintage cinema camera at the entrance of the AMC cinema in the capital Riyadh. Photo: AFP
It is part of a deal done with the world's biggest cinema chain, AMC, to open up to 40 cinemas in 15 Saudi cities over the next five years.
The past year has seen the start of Vision 2030, a drive by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to bring entertainment to the country.
The conservative Muslim kingdom had cinemas in the 1970s, but they were closed at the behest of hard line Islamic clerics.
Last year, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh reportedly warned of the "depravity" of cinemas, saying they would corrupt morals if allowed.
Saudi Arabia's royal family and religious establishment adhere to an austere form of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism, and Islamic codes of behaviour and dress are strictly enforced.
Saudis are enthusiastic consumers of Western media and culture, but have been confined to watching privately, on their phones and via satellite television at home.
Both Saudi authorities and cinema operators believe there is a huge untapped market that could generate up to $US1b ($NZ1.36b) in annual ticket sales through 350 theatres by 2030.
Vision 2030 is intended to help divert the Saudi economy from its dependence on oil, provide new jobs and give Saudis a reason to spend their money at home rather than abroad.
Prince Mohammed also announced women would be permitted to drive in Saudi Arabia for the first time from June 2018 - another move opposed by conservative clerics.
He has also cracked down on dissent and launched an anti-corruption drive that has seen hundreds of people, among them senior princes and prominent businessmen, detained and offered pardons in exchange for financial settlements with the state.
However, critics have said his actions served to subdue political opponents, and that his economic and social reforms had not been matched politically.
- BBC
