Saudi Arabia said it will invest $64 billion in its entertainment industry as part of its ongoing efforts to diversify its economy, according to reports.
The Kingdom will continue to host major film projects shooting in Saudi Arabia in the coming years. The action film ‘Desert Warrior’, starring Anthony Mackie (Marvel’s new Captain America), is being filmed entirely in Saudi Arabia, and Gerard Butler’s latest thriller ‘Kandahar’ is starting principal photography in the Al-Ula region this month — a first for the UNESCO World Heritage Site opened last year as part of Saudi Arabia’s related push to introduce tourism, per a Bloomberg report.
This year, the Kingdom doubled the length of an entertainment extravaganza called “Riyadh Season” and is hoping to attract twice as many international visitors as the last time around, according to Bloomberg. The 2019 edition of the event lasted three months, “sending consumer spending soaring, including money that would have gone abroad in search of entertainment,” Bloomberg reported.
The entertainment sector is being built from the ground-up in Saudi Arabia after decades of conservative laws saw cinemas closed and public festivals and events nearly non-existent.
Saudi Arabia’s economy is also well-positioned for the entertainment sector to blossom. After 18 months of effective decision-making to curb the Coronavirus pandemic, the Kingdom is well on its way to being fully open for business.
Saudi Arabia is also starting its first international film festival this year.
