Non-Arabic titles rule UAE box office

ALKESH SHARMA / Emirates Business

In the UAE, non-Arabic language cinema seems to be more money-spinning as it is accounted for making nearly three times more at the box office than Arabic titles. According to ‘Media Industries in the Middle East 2016’ report, the average box office revenue per title for non-Arabic films in UAE was around $467,000 in 2015, whereas it was only $173,000 for Arabic films.
“This huge gap can be attributed to the presence of large percentage of non-Arabic speaking expats, who have made UAE their second home. However, films remained one of the major medium of entertainment in the UAE,” Alexandra Sanchez, who is running a digital media start-up in Dubai, told Emirates Business.
“Since 2012, we have observed a steady rise in the number of titles screened in the UAE and at the same time the box office revenues are also surging constantly. UAE has recorded a robust performance in this segment even when we compare it with countries like Egypt and Lebanon, which have relatively much higher population,” stated Sanchez.
Together with Egypt and Lebanon, UAE constitutes more than half of the cinema industry in this region. Interestingly, out of the comparatively minor fraction of Arabic titles screened in the regional cinemas, Egyptian films continue their decades-old legacy of dominating the industry.
“A look at the three largest cinema markets by number of screens – UAE, Egypt, and Lebanon — indicates distinctive preferences and consumer patterns. In the UAE, non-Arabic language films seem to be more profitable, making almost three times more at the box office than films in Arabic,” said ‘Media Industries in the Middle East 2016’ report.
However, Egypt recorded an all-together opposite trend. Arabic films made upto four times more box office profits than non-Arabic in Egypt. Experts credited this trend to restrictive policies on foreign films, such as high taxes and quotas on the number of foreign films allowed into the country.
Talking about the factors that are contributing in the flourishing of non-Arabic titles in UAE, Shahjahan Abubaker, member of the Middle East Films Society, told Emirates Business, “Tax-free incomes, good salaries and comparatively younger population are some of the many factors that are contributing in the prosperity of non-Arabic cinema in the UAE. Even many Arabic-speaking residents are also big fans of movies made in English, French, Hindi and Tamil languages.”
Notably the ownership of cinema screens is highly concentrated in this region. “Top three cinema operators in UAE, Qatar, and Lebanon control around 70 to 90 percent of the screens in their respective countries. Popularity of cinema in the UAE is also reflected in the UAE’s total box office revenues, which are four to six times higher than in Egypt and Lebanon. In addition to screening far more films than Egypt and Lebanon overall, cinemas in the UAE earn more per title,” stated the report, which is compiled by the Northwestern University in Qatar, in partnership with Doha Film Institute.