Saudi Arabia is set to inaugurate its first cinema in capital Riyadh on April 18 after a 35-year ban was lifted in a landmark decision last December, authorities announced on Wednesday, and Marvel’s "Black Panther" will be the first movie to be screened according to media reports.

The Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information announced the decision on Wednesday after striking a deal with US-based AMC Entertainment to operate 40 theatres over the next five years.

The Gulf kingdom with a population of 32 million has set its eyes to becoming the largest market for movie-goers in the region with plans to build nearly 350 cinemas, with over 2,500 screens, by 2030 with a target to generate 1 billion US dollars in annual ticket sales, a press release from the ministry said. Cinemas will not be segregated by gender like most other public places in the conservative Muslim country.

The decision is part of Saudi Arabia’s ongoing social and economic reform program under Vision 2030, spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is currently touring the United States seeking investments to help broaden the economy and lessen its dependence on oil.

“The granting of the first license marks the opening of very significant opportunities for exhibitors. The Saudi market is very large, with the majority of the population under the age of 30 and eager to watch their favorite films here at home,” said Dr Awwad Alawwad, Minister of Culture and Information.

“The aim of Saudi Vision 2030 is to improve the quality of life for Saudi families by providing an array of entertainment opportunities. The restoration of cinemas will also help boost the local economy by increasing household spending on entertainment while supporting job creation in the kingdom,” he added.

AMC's first cinema will be located in the King Abdullah Financial District in a building originally intended to be a symphony concert hall, Reuters quoted AMC Chief Executive Adam Aron as saying. The main theatre will have about 500 leather seats, orchestra and balcony levels and marble bathrooms, he said. Three more screens will be added by mid-summer.

"We think it's going to be the prettiest movie theatre in the world," Aron said. "It's a dramatic building."

AMC is partnering with the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia's main sovereign wealth fund. 

Saudi Arabia had some cinemas in the 1970s but its powerful clerics closed them, reflecting rising religious influence throughout the Arab region at the time.

With the ban now lifted, many other global cinema operators such as Vue International and Vox Cinemas are looking to get a hold in the lucrative Saudi market and hoping to acquire the requisite licenses to build and run theaters.

In February, Vue – a cinema operator spanning 10 countries, 212 sites and 1,902 screens – agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Abdulmohsin Al Hokair Holding Group to explore the construction and operation of state of the art multiplex cinemas in Saudi Arabia.

Dubai-based Vox Cinemas is reportedly eying a major expansion in Saudi Arabia with plans to open 300 cinemas within the next five years.

“We have around 300 screens [in the Middle East region] at the moment, without Saudi we will at least reach 600 by 2020. With Saudi, we expect by 2021, we could be in the 1,000-screen range,” said VOX Cinemas’ CEO Cameron Mitchell in comments published by Zawya.

“We anticipate at least 300 screens in three to five years in Saudi Arabia,” he told the website.

Despite the decades-long ban, Saudi nationals have been avid consumers of Hollywood films, Western media and television series.

While there are concerns about the content that will be screened on Saudi theatres, AMC’s Aron told Reuters he expected the same versions of films that are being shown in other Gulf nations like the UAE, Oman or Kuwait to be suitable for the Saudi audience.

"Hollywood has long ago dealt with the sensitivities of the Middle East and have adjusted film product accordingly," he said. "Major Hollywood studios are showing films all over the Middle East."

 [Cover Photo: This combination of two images shows a poster of Marvel's superhero movie "Black Panther" next to a photo of AMC Entertainment's movie theater in West Chester, Ohio, US. Saudi Arabia has granted the first cinema operating license to AMC Entertainment, which will open its first theater in Riyadh on April 18, with the screening of 'Black Panther'. /VCG Photo]