Are Saudi cinemas turning into stadiums for major matches?

After selling about 68,000 tickets

Rima Al-Tuwaijri from Riyadh

Monday, July 20, 2026 19:44 | 2 minutes read

The 2026 World Cup has created an unprecedented season for Saudi cinemas. Instead of competing for the latest film releases, giant screens have become a destination for football fans, with match screenings recording 67,904 tickets since the tournament began, indicating that cinemas have an opportunity to expand their activities beyond showing films.

These numbers do not appear to be just a temporary success linked to the World Cup hype, but rather a practical test of an entertainment model that global markets have been adopting for years under the name 'Event Cinema', which means turning cinema halls into platforms hosting live broadcasts of sports events, concerts, and theatrical performances. This model relies on utilizing the advanced technical infrastructure of cinemas throughout the year, rather than tying their revenues to film seasons alone.

Economically, this model opens a new door for cinema operators. Instead of keeping halls tied only to the film release schedule, they can be operated during global events that have a huge fan base, which increases occupancy rates and boosts food and beverage sales, achieving greater utilization of existing infrastructure without the need for additional construction investments.

The importance of these results increases given the screening times, as most matches were held in the late hours of the night, yet the halls maintained remarkable attendance rates throughout the tournament.

This reflects that the experience of watching the World Cup in cinemas offered a different collective experience from home viewing or even sports cafes.

Mon, 13 2026

The halls were filled with fans wearing their favorite teams' shirts, and cheers rose with every goal, while the audience experienced moments of anticipation and excitement collectively, making the hall atmosphere closer to stadium stands than to a cinema.

Amid growing competition with digital streaming platforms, these experiences seem more important than ever, because what cinemas offer is no longer limited to the content itself, but the collective experience: the sense of participation, interaction with the audience, and instant emotion, elements that individual viewing can hardly provide no matter how home streaming technologies develop.

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