The drama of the Saudi director Abdulaziz Al -Ashlahi “Hubal” about the clashes between traditions and modernity within a Saudi family during the early nineties, registered strongly at the Saudi ticket net, surpassing Hollywood titles such as “MUFASA: The Lion King”, “The Danger of Flying” and “The Erin thieves 2: Pantira. “
The film is at the appropriate time when her grandfather forced the Saudi family to live in isolation in the desert at the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1990, when a young girl gets sick, which prompted her mother to fight parental to try to save her child, is a deep string with the Saudi masses. “Hobal” has now withdrew more than 500,000 acceptance since its release on January 2 through the QANWAT group, where it collected approximately $ 5.7 million so far, according to numbers from the Saudi Film Committee that collects Saudi box office numbers.
On the contrary, Disney “Movasa” has achieved 328,000 acceptance and withdrew 4.4 million dollars locally since December 19, 2024, in Saudi cinemas.
The performance of the star “Hobal” box office in Saudi Arabia is described as determining the fastest growth title of a local independent title in the local ticket office since the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia canceled a 35 -year ban on the operation of commercial films theaters in December 2017.
Noticeably “Hobal”, which was first shown at the Red Sea Film Festival in December, maintained its strong opening momentum on January 2 with tests sold throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, even in rural areas “where the participation of the public made up more than 20 % Of the total acceptance, “according to a statement from the distributor.
Since the lifting of the debt -related embargo on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the cinema, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become in the North African Middle East, where the audience flows on the cinemas seduced by both Hollywood films and an increasing number of local visits.
But the strength of local content is one of the greatest Trump cards in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Nathan Gilligan, the Director of the Great Operations at COMSCORE recently told diverse: “The local product is really strong in Saudi Arabia. It is common even as you go out in the provinces.”
Outside the Saudi, “Hubal” was playing well in the regions of the nearby Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), where more than 87,000 acceptance in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain recorded.
“Hobal” was largely filmed in the new Bajdah Studios near the future city of Neom and in the landscape in the desert and mountains along the Saudi Red Sea coast in Tabuk. It is the third feature of Alshlahei, which starts from its leading drama “The Tambour of Retribution”, about the banned love between Ibn Al -Jallad and the daughter of the drama player at the beginning of the century. “Tambour”, which was released on Netflix, was the introduction of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the best international feature film of 2022.
“Hobal” is produced by Shaf Studios, with the Egyptian cinematic clinic Mohamed Hefzi and the Peninsula Pictures group as participating producers. The film was produced by Sherif Al -Magali with Abdel Aziz Al -Sha’ali, Mawvarj Al -Mijfil, Muhammad Al -Turki, and his countryside, who work as executive producers. It was supported by the DAW Film Competition, the Saudi Film Committee, the Life Quality Program, and the NEOM, with the participation of various private sector partners.
