S Arabia hosts first public film screening

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia hosted its first public film screening in over 35 years on Friday, US movie giant AMC said, two days after it unveiled the kingdom’s debut theatre in Riyadh.

Tickets for an 8.30 pm (1730 GMT) show of the blockbuster action film “Black Panther” appeared to have sold out minutes after AMC Entertainment began online sales around midnight. “Sorry! Tickets have been sold out, please check back later,” the retailer Noon.com said on its website. AMC chief executive Adam Aron on Wednesday said its multiplex theatre at Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District will for now operate one screen with a seating capacity of around 250. He said plans were afoot for three more screens in the coming months. On social media, many Saudis complained that the ticket price of 75 Saudi riyals ($20), which included a new entertainment tax and value-added tax introduced this year, was too exorbitant in an age of austerity. “If we go as a family we will need a loan,” one Saudi tweeted.