Set as Homepage - Add to Favorites

【Roman Perez Jr. Archives】

Source：Exquisite Information Network Editor：Shopping Time：2025-06-26 12:06:51

Saudi Arabia has just lifted a 35-year-old ban on Roman Perez Jr. Archivescinemas, and picked an, uh, interesting movie for the first screening.

Ready? The Emoji Movie.Yep.

The very first film hitting cinema screens in three and a half decades was 2017's animated feature about a city populated by talking emojis. It's currently sitting at 9 percent on Rotten Tomatoes — although, granted, it has a 39 percent audience score. And it's targeted at children.

SEE ALSO: 'The Emoji Movie' has a lovely, timely message. It's not evil. Ignore the meanies.

But hey, let's celebrate the fact that it was shown at all.

The conservative kingdom's Ministry of Culture and Information agreed to issue licenses for cinemas on Dec. 11, 2017. According to Reuters, the country's first permanent theatres could open as early as March 2018, and the authorities are sponsoring temporary cinemas for now — one, in Jeddah's cultural hall, apparently has a popcorn machine. Films will be censored to adhere to the "moral values" of the kingdom — exactly what these censored films look like remains to be seen.

“Until now, there is no infrastructure for movie theaters, so we are trying to take advantage of (alternative) venues to approximate the cinematic form,” Mamdouh Salim told Reuters. He organised the first week of screenings in Jeddah with brand Cinema 70 brand.

Mashable Top Stories Stay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news. Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

“We tried to use these films to be a starting point as the first cinematic screening after the decision on Dec. 11 to permit movie theaters.”

Cinemas have been banned in Saudi Arabia since the early 1980s, due to conservative Islamists wanting to discourage any form of entertainment or leisure activity that enables men and women to mingle in public — they were seen as a corrupting influence.

Conservative critics, including the head of Saudi Arabia's religious authority,grand mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, are staunchly against the cinema ban lift.

“Motion pictures may broadcast shameless, immoral, atheistic or rotten films,” he said on his television show. "There is nothing good in song parties, for entertainment day and night, and opening of movie houses at all times is an invitation to mixing of sexes."

The Emoji Moviedoesn't seem too surprising a pick, now does it?

The cinema push is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's so-called Vision 2030, an ambitious package of social-economic reforms to lessen the kingdom's dependence on oil and return the kingdom to "moderate Islam".

The reforms have also seen significant changes such as allowing women to drive in June 2018 and letting them into sport stadiums in Oct. 2017.

Additional reporting by Gianluca Mezzofiore.

Featured Video For You
Star Wars fans worldwide are attending lightsaber schools

Previous：Outdoor speaker deal: Save $20 on the Soundcore Boom 2

Next：FreeSync 2 Explained

Related Articles
Related Recommendations
Categories
Latest Articles
Popular Articles
Hot Recommendations
Featured Column

Quick Links

Hodor admits his 'Game of Thrones' nude scene was 'traumatic''Humans of New York' captured a precious moment between Blake Lively and Ryan ReynoldsFacebook Messenger's Instant Games just got a serious upgradeESPN's big bloodbath appears not quite over yetFacebook taps former New York Times VP to fix its fake news problemLeaked photos purportedly show Fitbit's upcoming smartwatchMcDonald's wants us to eat our burgers with a fork made of friesIKEA sent out an AI survey and what in the name of eftersökt are they planning?!IKEA sent out an AI survey and what in the name of eftersökt are they planning?!Incredibly bright star hogs all the attention in beautiful new galaxy photoKylie Jenner totally broke the Met Gala's no selfie rule but look at all the celebsJust when you thought it was over, here's the mermaid frappuccinoHow to watch Microsoft's #MicrosoftEDU event liveHappy 20th birthday to my first true love: AOL's Instant MessengerA freak show blames Snapchat for its deathResearch note suggests the iPhone 8 will be delayed until 2018Katy Perry's Met Gala look has a mysterious messageSomeone threw a Pepsi can at police IRL during a protestToddler accidentally locks himself in car, has a great time getting rescuedBeyoncé just announced that you'll be $300 poorer soon Apple adds real The gold luxury Apple Watch experiment is dead Dehydration is on trend, according to Kanye West's latest fashion show Magical cat isn't even sorry he rolled in the bathtub and got covered in glitter Apple introduces 'swim A Florida Congressman just brought a jar of 100 mosquitoes onto the House floor Deadly Louisiana deluge had a major climate change assist, study finds Everything Apple's new AirPods look like Amazon finally brings Alexa to the Fire tablet Dos Equis debuts younger, Spanish The PlayStation 4 gets a slimmer, sleeker redesign The iPhone event began with 'Carpool Karaoke' because of course it did Sanders the 5th: KFC has officially gone Colonel Apple Watch Series 2 ticks all the boxes except the 'wow' factor Amazon leaks iPhone 7 product page, showing off Bluetooth headphones Everyone's a Kardashian at Kanye West's Saint Pablo tour Secret life of lawn mowers: New Nest ads solve bizarre household mysteries The Apple Watch Nike+ will ask you if you want to go for a run Apple gives you a dongle to lose in consolation for killing the headphone jack Airbnb threatens legal action in New York

2.0192s , 8224.609375 kb

Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Roman Perez Jr. Archives】,Exquisite Information Network  

Sitemap

Top

Quick Links