DUBAI: Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), the Dubai-based operator of malls and leisure facilities, is preparing a big roll-out of new cinema screens in the Kingdom.
Following the first film viewing for nearly four decades in April and the opening of four Vox screens in Riyadh Park Mall, MAF is on the verge of a more ambitious initiative to create 80 screens in the Kingdom by the first quarter of next year.
Cameron Mitchell, the chief executive of MAF Cinemas, revealed the plans in an interview with Arab News.
“By the spring of 2019 we will have invested $100 million in cinema in Saudi Arabia, and by the end of next year we expect to have 200 screens. It is one of the fastest programs of openings anywhere in the world. There’s a lot happening very quickly,” he said.
The latest initiative is part of MAF’s $550 million strategy for cinemas in the Kingdom, and will see screens in Riyadh, Jeddah, in the Eastern Province and eventually many other smaller cities. Mitchell, who has been working in cinema in the region for the past 12 years, said the Saudi Arabian market is potentially huge.
“Saudi Arabia has such a young population and a big demand for entertainment, so the potential is enormous. For example, in Australia the average per capita number of cinema visits is five times a year. Even if every Saudi visits a cinema just once a year, that’s 30 million new visits per year,” he said.
MAF is planning to open 600 screens in Saudi Arabia by 2030, but Mitchell said that could be a “conservative” target. Cinemas in the Kingdom will eventually account for 50 percent of MAF’s regional cinema business, he estimated.
Mitchell said that MAF’s experience so far in Saudi Arabia had been very good. “We think we know what will appeal to Saudi audiences. Black Panther was the first, and the reception was fantastic. Movies such as the Avenger series, Ferdinand, Jurassic Park, X-Men all play well there.The big blockbusters go down really well, but there will also be Arabic films, and Hindi films at other times. Jurassic Park was a real hit — it was the first time some Saudis had ever seen a 3D dinosaur on a big screen,” he added.
The four screens in Riyadh are divided into “family” and “bachelor” venues, and films are chosen to be suitable for the particular audience. “Aside from the segregation of bachelors and families, it’s no different from Dubai. Perhaps over time, that segregation will change too,” Mitchell said.
The reintroduction of cinema has gone very smoothly, he said. “There have been no real challenges regarding content. We’ve been working closely with the censors, but there have been no problems so far.
“We’ve learned a lot from how the UAE censors films, and advances in technology allow us to do it in a more subtle way, for instance zooming in on one subject in a controversial scene. We can avoid (bits) ... rather than cutting the whole scene.
“Areas to avoid are pretty obvious — religion and nudity, and we don’t really show films that have that kind of content anyway. It is mainly action films and family films. We will have lots of screens, so we can match whatever the demand is and the law allows,” he said.
MAF wants to make cinema one of the main forms of entertainment in the Kingdom as it goes through Vision 2030 transformation plans aimed at diversifying the economy and allowing a more liberal lifestyle.
“It is not just about a movie. We want it to be the favorite form of all-round entertainment, and so far it has been a great success. We’ve been selling tickets a couple of days in advance. There have been multiple sold-out sessions, and we’ve had a lot of positive feedback on the popcorn and the nachos,” he said.
One of the biggest cinema hubs will be in the Mall of Saudi, which MAF is planning in the Saudi capital, complete with an indoor ski slope.
“Our cinemas win awards for being among the best in the world, quite an achievement for a Middle East company. The Mall of Saudi will be an entertainment hub, equipped for gaming as well,” Mitchell said. Other new screens will be located in existing malls but there will also be some standalone venues.
“We’re spending a lot of money to develop cinemas quickly, so returns will be consistent with what we normally get from cinemas,” he said.
Mitchell said MAF was open to discussions with existing developers, and would be interested in projects in places such as King Abdullah Economic City and Qiddiya, the huge leisure complex planned outside Riyadh.
“We like to see ourselves as the local developer. Of course, there is competition, but we always build the best in the region, and we run the best malls in the region too. We don’t do cheap, we do best in class and we won’t cut corners,” he said.
MAF plans to employ 3,000 mostly Saudi staff in its cinema business, and wants to recruit a Saudi to run the distribution business in which it partners with 20th Century Fox.
The boost to KSA cinema entertainment is also expected to have a big effect on film-making in the region, Mitchell said.
“We’re looking for some big Saudi film premieres in the autumn. I was at the Cannes Film Festival recently, marketing the product and looking at how we can support the film industry in Saudi Arabia.
“Regionally, there is not a lot of locally made content, but we expect a lot more in years to come. We want local content and we see lots of Saudi films in coming years. We will work with the government to help that along. Cinema in Saudi Arabia is a government-backed and endorsed initiative as part of 2030,” he said.
Vox Cinemas brings popcorn and superheroes to 80 screens across Saudi Arabia
Vox Cinemas brings popcorn and superheroes to 80 screens across Saudi Arabia
- Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), the Dubai-based operator of malls and leisure facilities, is preparing a big roll-out of new cinema screens in the Kingdom
- Cameron Mitchell, the chief executive of MAF Cinemas, revealed the plans in an interview with Arab News
Creative tech agency Engage Works to launch in Saudi Arabia
- Representation at the Saudi Entertainment and Amusement Expo 2024
DUBAI: Creative technology agency Engage Works has announced its expansion into Saudi Arabia with the acquisition of a new trade license in the Kingdom.
Steve Blyth, founder and group CEO of the agency, told Arab News: “Saudi Arabia feels like the center of the universe right now for the creation of cultural destinations and immersive experiences.
“We get to work on projects that probably wouldn’t happen anywhere else in the world right now. The wealth of untapped cultural assets the Kingdom wants to bring to life — for new, young and international audiences — is unsurpassed.”
The agency will be represented at the Saudi Entertainment and Amusement Expo 2024, which takes place at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Center from May 7-9.
Alex McCuaig, Engage Work’s strategy director, said: “This is a great opportunity for us to showcase our expertise in creating immersive experiences and to collaborate with other industry leaders to drive innovation and engagement in the region.”
The agency has already won several projects in the Kingdom and will be opening an office in the country in the coming months, he added.
Engage Works currently has premises in London and Dubai, and its clients include Emirates, Accenture, Google, KPMG, Microsoft, and EY.
TikTok announces new safety measures
- Features aimed at enhancing safer content creation and sharing
DUBAI: TikTok has announced a slew of safety updates to enhance content creation and sharing on the platform.
The company said the features were designed to provide better transparency and help creators learn about its policies and check their account status.
Adam Presser, head of operations, said: “Creators play a fundamental role in helping maintain a safe and entertaining environment for everyone on TikTok.
“We focus on empowering people with information about our policies and tools so they can safely express themselves and connect with others.”
Effective this month, TikTok’s community guidelines have been updated to include refined definitions and more detailed explanations of the platform’s policies, such as those concerning hate speech and health misinformation.
They also feature expanded guidelines on the moderation of features such as Search, Live and the For You feed.
The platform is revising its eligibility standards for the feed. For example, accounts that repeatedly post content that goes against the standards for the feed might become temporarily ineligible for recommendation, making their content harder to find in searches.
The creators behind these accounts will be notified and be able to appeal the decision.
In order to help people better understand its policies TikTok will issue a warning when a creator violates community guidelines for the first time. This will not count toward the account’s strike tally.
The platform will notify creators of any violations and provide details about which rules they have breached and allow them to appeal the decision if needed.
However, policies that are considered zero tolerance, such as incitement to violence, are not eligible for such reminders and accounts violating them will be banned immediately.
Building on the account status page introduced last year, TikTok is launching an account check tool that will allow creators to review their last 30 posts and account status in one place.
It will also roll out a creator code of conduct in the coming weeks, which sets expectations for creators involved in programs, features, events and campaigns to follow both on and off-platform.
Presser said the standards were being introduced because the company “believes that being a part of these programs is an opportunity that comes with additional responsibilities.”
“This code will also help provide creators with additional reassurance that other participants are meeting these standards too,” he said.
Media watchdog says journalists should be allowed to cover college protests safely
- Journalists said they have been barred from reporting on events
LONDON: Media watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists has called on authorities to allow journalists covering US college protests to do so “freely and safely.”
“Journalists — including student journalists who have been thrust into a national spotlight to cover stories in their communities — must be allowed to cover campus protests without fearing for their safety,” said Katherine Jacobsen, the CPJ’s US, Canada and Caribbean program coordinator.
“Any efforts by authorities to stop them doing their jobs have far-reaching repercussions on the public’s ability to be informed about current events.”
Tensions have escalated between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and law enforcement during recent protests at universities across the US.
On Tuesday night, New York police equipped with anti-riot gear forcibly entered Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall, a focal point of the protests, resulting in the arrest of approximately 300 pro-Palestinian students.
Meanwhile, student journalists at the University of California in Los Angeles reported being assaulted and exposed to gas during violent clashes. In Northern California, local journalists covering college demonstrations were detained and arrested by police.
The CPJ said at least 13 journalists had been arrested or detained since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7 and 11 have been assaulted while covering related protests in the US.
Those arrested include FOX 7 reporter Carlos Sanchez, who was shoved to the ground last month while covering a protest at the University of Texas in Austin. He is currently facing two misdemeanor charges.
Universal Music Group artists to return to TikTok after new licensing pact
- New deal to restore label’s song to platform, increase artists’ protection from AI
- Universal Music says TikTok accounts for 1 percent of its annual revenue in 2023
LONDON: Universal Music Group and TikTok said on Thursday they had reached a new licensing agreement that will restore the label’s songs and artists to the social media platform as well as give musicians more protections from artificial intelligence.
TikTok began removing Universal’s content from its app after their licensing deal expired in January and the two sides failed to reach agreement on royalties, AI and online safety for TikTok’s users.
Describing their new pact as a multi-dimensional deal, the companies said they were working “expeditiously” to return music by the label’s artists to TikTok, and also said they would team up to realize new monetization opportunities from TikTok’s growing e-commerce capabilities.
They will “work together on campaigns supporting UMG’s artists across genres and territories globally,” the two firms said in a joint statement.
The short video app is a valuable marketing and promotional tool for the music industry. TikTok is where 16- to 19-year-olds in the United States most commonly discover music, ahead of YouTube and music streaming services such as Spotify , according to Midia Research.
“Roughly a quarter of US consumers say they listen to songs they have heard on TikTok,” said Tatiana Cirisano, Midia’s senior music industry analyst.
However, Universal Music claimed its artists and songwriters are paid just a fraction of what it receives from other major social media platforms.
The music label says TikTok accounts for 1 percent of its annual revenue or about $110 million in 2023. YouTube, by contrast, paid the music industry $1.8 billion from user-generated content in the 12 months ending in June 2022, according to Midia.
In a move that may well have eroded its bargaining power, Taylor Swift, one of Universal Music’s biggest acts, allowed a selection of her songs to return to TikTok as she promoted her latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”
Swift owns the copyrights to her recordings through her 2018 deal with Universal and can control where her songs are available, according to the Financial Times.
As licensing negotiations resumed in recent weeks, AI remained a major point of contention. Universal has claimed TikTok is “flooded” with AI-generated recordings, including songs that users create with the help of TikTok’s AI songwriting tools.
In Thursday’s deal, TikTok and Universal said that they would work together to ensure AI development across the music industry will protect human artistry and the economics that flow to those artists and songwriters.
“TikTok is also committed to working with UMG to remove unauthorized AI-generated music from the platform, as well as (developing) tools to improve artist and songwriter attribution,” the statement said.
Concerns about AI have grown in the creative community. In April, a non-profit group called the Artist Rights Alliance published an open letter urging the responsible use of the technology. The group of more than 200 musicians and songwriters called on technology companies and digital music services to pledge not to deploy AI in a way that would “undermine or replace the human artistry of songwriters and artists or deny us fair compensation for our work.”
The deal comes amid questions over TikTok’s long-term future in the United States. President Joe Biden signed legislation last week that gives TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, 270 days to sell its US assets. TikTok has vowed to file suit to challenge the legislation, which it calls a ban.
More than 170 million Americans use its video service, according to TikTok. Globally, it has more than 1.5 billion monthly active users, according to research firm Statista.
Arab News awards total reach 125 with three new wins at Newspaper Design competition
- Accolades include prestigious Annual SDP, WAN-IFRA Digital Media Awards, European Newspaper Awards
LONDON: Arab News, Saudi Arabia’s first English language daily, won three Awards of Excellence at the sixth Newspaper Design competition, bringing the total number of awards to 125 since its relaunch in 2018.
“The Kingdom’s Bride and Joy”, a special print edition marking the Jordanian royal wedding, won the Best of Page One award, while “Riyadh: A city steeped in history” took home the prize for Best of Double Page Spreads, and “Accession to the British Throne” scooped the Best of Infographics recognition for the special coverage of King Charles III’s coronation last year.
Established in 2009, the distinguished Newspaper Design is Asia’s inaugural newspaper design website, acknowledging outstanding contributions to news design in both print and online media.
Chaired by Mario Garcia, a globally renowned Cuban-American media designer, this year’s jury praised Arab News’ entries for their innovation and visual storytelling prowess.
“The Kingdom’s Bride and Joy” page, commemorating the historic union between Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan and Saudi Arabia’s Rajwa Al-Saif, was lauded for its cinematic illustration capturing the significance of the occasion. The judges said: “This page marks a historic occasion and captures the sweep and significance with a polished illustration that looks more like a well-directed movie poster than just a newspaper centerpiece.”
Similarly, the design spotlighting Riyadh’s National Day and Arab News’ Expo 2030 campaign was commended for its innovative blend of landscape photography and illustration, seamlessly narrating the city’s story.
Arab News’ coverage of King Charles III’s coronation ceremony last May earned recognition for its elegant and celebratory infographics. In December, the page was also recognized within the category Supplements for Special Occasions at the European Newspaper Awards.
The accolades underscore Arab News’ editorial evolution under Editor-in-Chief Faisal J. Abbas, who spearheaded its relaunch in 2018.
Under the guidance of Design Department head Omar Nashashibi, Arab News continues to receive acclaim, recently earning multiple honors at the prestigious 59th Annual Society of Publications Designers, including for its feature opener “Onions’ tears and inflation fears” page and custom feature design for the special investigation “The Kingdom vs Captagon.”
Past recognitions encompass a range of special projects, including multiple international awards for “Saudi’s Animal Kingdom,” “Step by Step Hajj Guide 2023,” and the “FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022” special edition.
For more information about Arab News and its award-winning projects, visit https://www.arabnews.com/greatesthits.
