Reducing ticket prices puts pressure on Saudi cinema revenues

Saudi box office revenues declined last year by about 8% on an annual basis, under pressure from the decline in ticket prices, as data from the Saudi Film Authority showed.

The decrease in revenues was not due to a decline in demand at the box office, but rather from the decision to reduce ticket prices in May of last year, according to Mohamed Abdel Jalil, an artistic affairs analyst at Al Sharq.

The total revenues of movie theaters in the Kingdom last year amounted to 846 million riyals, compared to 919 million in 2023, despite the increase in the number of tickets sold by 500,000 to 17.5 million tickets for the same period.

The seven companies that operate cinema halls in the Kingdom have worked to reduce their prices during 2024, so that the value of the ticket will range between 50 and 55 riyals, down from about 85 riyals. (Bloomberg)