Saudi Arabian thriller “Mandoob”, about a struggling man who becomes an illegal liquor smuggler, beat “Wonka” to top the Saudi box office over the weekend and also scored the biggest opening ever for a local film in the territory.
The groundbreaking Saudi film, which had a positive world premiere in Toronto in September – and recently had a regional bow at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah – took in 114,000 admissions and a gross of $1.58 million following its release on 14 December. That puts it well ahead of Warner Bros.’ “Wonka”, which came in second with about 38,000 admissions and a total of $616,000, and Studio Ghibli’s “The Boy and the Heron”, which came in third, according to figures provided by distributor Front Row Arabia.
Directed by Saudi cinema pioneer Ali Kalthami and produced by Telfaz11, the studio he co-founded, Mandoob sees protagonist Fahad fired from his call centre job and turned into a booze runner, plunging him into the depths of Riyadh’s underworld as he battles adversity to save his ailing father.
Front Row Arabia – a joint venture between distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment and local exhibitor Muvi Cinemas – previously collaborated on the release of the action comedy “Sattar”, also produced by Telfaz11, which went on to draw over 900,000 admissions after its launch at last year’s Red Sea Fest, unseating “Avatar: The Way of the Water” from the top box office spot en route to an eye-popping $11 million, the highest gross ever for a Saudi feature film.
“Mandoob” has been mastered for theatrical release in both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, which is being touted as a first for Saudi and Arab cinema in general.
“The overwhelming response to the opening weekend of ‘Mandoob’ is truly encouraging,” said Kalthami in a statement. “We have taken a leap into uncharted territory, exploring a new genre, and to see audiences embrace the film with such enthusiasm is immensely gratifying. This success is a testament to the incredible efforts of the entire team, and I’m eager to continue pushing boundaries and creating impactful narratives in the Saudi film scene.”
Gianluka Chakra, CEO of Front Row, added: “The exceptional results of ‘Mandoob’ prove once again that local language films are ready to take over from Hollywood in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Only 13% of the films released in 2023 were local-language, and yet they earned over 36% of the box office, a steady increase from previous years. This is an exciting prospect for Arab cinema and we’d like to congratulate the teams at Telfaz11 and Muvi Studios on the film’s success.
