AMC exits Saudi Arabia as young cinema market booms

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — AMC Entertainment Holdings has decided to exit Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing market amid heavy competition less than five years after the lifting of a decades-long ban on movie theaters. The world’s biggest cinema chain, which announced the decision on Tuesday, said it had always planned to eventually hand operations over to its Saudi partners and that the $30 million sale would further boost its cash reserves as the industry struggles to recover from the pandemic. Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on movie theaters and other forms of public entertainment as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to overhaul the economy and bring Western-style entertainment to the once-cloistered and ultra-conservative kingdom.