Muvi Studios and Saudi Tefaz11's new production arm, AlShimaisi Films, have produced the film.
Saudi action-comedy Sattar has officially become the highest-grossing Saudi film of all time after just 12 days of release, attracting over 159k viewers and a GBO of $2.2m in the KSA market. This beats the previous record held by the historical drama Born A King, which had achieved a total run of 151k admissions back when it was released in 2020.
Sattar’s opening weekend also saw it dethrone Avatar: The Way of Water on its third week, outpacing the James Cameron juggernaut by more than 40% in terms of admissions and 32% in GBO. The film’s positive word of mouth also saw it drop just 11% on the second weekend, despite wide thunderstorms across the Kingdom.
Sattar, which had its world premiere at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah last December, is produced by AlShimaisi Films, Telfaz11’s new production arm as well as Muvi Studios. Front Row Arabia, a joint-venture between prominent MENA distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Saudi exhibitor Muvi Cinemas, is handling all theatrical distribution.
Helmed by Kuwaiti director Abdullah Al Arak, Sattar stars Saudi actor and stand-up comedian Ibrahim Al Hajjaj (known for the hit action series Rashash and Netflix’s Six Windows in the Desert) who plays Saad, a depressed man failing at both his professional and personal life who decides to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a freestyle wrestler. The dream soon turns into a nightmare when a clip of him getting beaten gets leaked in the auditions. Later he meets Ali Hogan, a famous wrestling business manager played by Abdulaziz Al Shehri, who convinces him to re-enter the world of wrestling, where he meets his Pakistani coach Abdul Khaleq, played by Ibrahim Al Khairallah, who prepares him for the biggest free wrestling championship. The film also stars Shahd Algefari on her acting debut.
Ibraheem Alkhairallah, CEO of AlShimaisi Films, said: “We’re beyond delighted to see the historical results that Sattar has achieved. It’s an honour for us to see the film become the biggest Saudi film ever and this highlights how strong Saudi cinema can be and that there is a huge appetite for Saudi-led stories. We cannot wait to show everyone what else we have in store for the future. This is only the beginning.”
Sattar is the first film from Muvi Studios in collaboration with AlShimaisi Films. Faisal Baltyuor, CEO of Muvi Studios, added: “After the launch of Muvi Studios in May 2022, we are delighted by this groundbreaking start which made a new milestone in Saudi Box office that successfully attracted more audience and raised the trust in Saudi Film.
Gianluca Chakra, Front Row’s CEO, stated: “Up until now, Saudi Cinema has struggled to attract audiences. Sattar has managed to break the molds thanks to how it reflects the true culture of Saudi Arabia, which is something that AlShimaisi Films, Telfaz11 and Muvi Studios clearly understand. This is a groundbreaking result that clearly shows that Saudi cinema is more than capable of competing with the biggest blockbusters out there”
Following its success locally, Sattar is set for a theatrical release in the rest of the Gulf on January 19.
