Empire Entertainment, the exclusive theatrical distributor for Sony Pictures across the Middle East, has announced a historic opening weekend for Spider-Man: Brand New Day , which has become the biggest-opening weekend of all time for a film in Middle East box office history.
During its opening weekend, Spider-Man: Brand New Day generated US$18.4m at the Middle East box office, with the UAE contributing US$7.4m and S audi Arabia delivering US$5.4m, making both countries, the film’s two biggest markets in the region.
The film also recorded strong audience numbers across Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, according to Empire Entertainment. The rising numbers highlighting Middle East’s growing importance as one of the world’s strongest theatrical markets for major blockbuster releases.
“When a film performs this strongly, it tells us something crucial: audiences across the region are increasingly choosing cinema as their destination for entertainment,” Mario Haddad Jr, President, Empire Entertainment.
He added that the film’s performance marked an important milestone for Empire Entertainment and reflected the franchise’s continued appeal across generations.
“ The remarkable success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day also marks an important milestone for Empire Entertainment as the 10th Spider-Man film we have distributed across the Middle East.” He said, “It is a testament to the enduring strength of one of the world’s most beloved franchises and the excitement it continues to generate across generations. This result sets a powerful precedent for how we approach distribution going forward.”
The regional performance at the theatres comes as Spider-Man: Brand New Day also recorded a strong global opening. The film generated an estimated US$355m across the US and Canada and US$927m worldwide during its opening weekend, according to the distributor.
With Spider-Man: Brand New Day now entering its second week, Empire Entertainment expects the title to continue its momentum across cinemas in the Middle East.