'Black Panther' Is Set To Be the First Film Released in Saudi Arabia in 35 Years

Talk about an impact.

'Black Panther' Is Set To Be the First Film Released in Saudi Arabia in 35 Years

Black Panther continues to do what seems to be the impossible with more milestones achieved this week.

Variety reports Disney and Italia Film, its Middle East distribution partner, is set to release the Marvel blockbuster April 18 in Saudi Arabia—this premiere will break the country's 35-year cinema ban.


The screening will hold in a new AMC-branded movie theater in Riyadh with a gala premiere. Black Panther "will mark the first public screening in the kindgom since movie theaters were banned in the early 1980s, after Saudi Arabia adopted ultraconservative religious standards in 1979. Removal of the ban, announced last December, is part of a drive by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to transform Saudi society," Variety says.

Black Panther continues to surpass box office records, with topping the overall domestic gross of Jurassic World as well as beating Frozen worldwide, Forbes reports. This makes the film the fourth biggest-grossing movie of all time in North America and it's now the top 10 all-time grossers in the world. By the time this weekend ends, it's set to surpass Titanic.

At the rate of this film's impact so far (it's only April), Wakanda surely is forever—and we're here for it.

A photo of ‘African Queens: Njinga’ star Adesuwa Oni dressed in traditional African royal attire, being carried on a throne.
Film + TV

11 African Documentaries to Watch on Netflix Right Now

These documentaries tell stories of the diverse history and culture, and untold perspectives from across the continent.

A close-up shot of two boys, one wearing a white tank top and one a yellow t-shirt, carrying plastic bottles in sacks on their backs.
Film + TV

In ‘Khartoum,’ Dreams Nurture Hope as Resistance to War

In this groundbreaking documentary, a civil servant, a tea lady, a resistance committee volunteer, and two street boys from Sudan’s war-torn capital share their stories in search of freedom.