CinemaCon, which brings together major global players in the motion picture theatre industry from more than 80 countries, is being hosted at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas until April 28.
Vox Cinemas, the cinema arm of Majid Al Futtaim, has been recognised with an award at CinemaCon for its contribution to Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning cinema sector.
Saudi Arabia was honoured with the Emerging Market Spotlight Award and, as a leading exhibitor and key player in the growth of the Kingdom’s cinema industry, the award was presented to Vox Cinemas. This is the second time that Vox Cinemas has been recognised at the event having previously been awarded Global Achievement in Exhibition in 2017.
Saudi Arabia received the honour following a 95% year-on-year box office increase in 2021 according to Comscore, the media measurement and analytics company, who sponsors the award. The previous recipient of the award was Nigeria in 2019.
Speaking about the award, Ignace Lahoud, Chief Executive Officer, Majid Al Futtaim Leisure, Entertainment & Cinemas, said: “Cinema in Saudi Arabia is growing at an unprecedented speed and, in just over four years, it has established itself as a major box office player on the global stage. VOX Cinemas will continue to play a leading role in creating a sustainable film industry and growing the cinema culture in the Kingdom by expanding its footprint and developing a dynamic content ecosystem. We are proud to see Saudi Arabia’s film industry receive international recognition and are honoured that CinemaCon has selected us to accept this award.”
Mitch Neuhauser, Managing Director of CinemaCon added: “With almost 80% of the worldwide box office now coming from overseas, the international market has never played a more important role in the cinema industry. In particular, the Saudi film sector is the emerging market to watch and a key focus is globally given its exponential growth at the box office.”
