Saudi Arabia's first cinema in more than 35 years will open on April 18 in the capital Riyadh, authorities say after agreeing with AMC Entertainment Holdings to open up to 40 theatres over the next five years.
Movie theatres will not be segregated by gender like most other public places in the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia had cinemas in the 1970s but its powerful clerics closed them, reflecting rising Islamist influence throughout the Arab region at the time.
In 2017, the government said it would lift the ban as part of ambitious economic and social reforms pushed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Despite the cinema ban, Hollywood films and recent television series are widely watched at home and discussed in Saudi Arabia.
AMC's first cinema will be in the King Abdullah Financial District in a building originally intended to be a symphony concert hall, AMC Chief Executive Adam Aron said.
The main theatre will feature about 500 leather seats, orchestra and balcony levels, and marble bathrooms, he said.
"We think it's going to be the prettiest movie theatre in the world," Aron said.
To serve a population of more than 32 million, the majority under the age of 30, Saudi Arabia wants to set up around 350 cinemas with over 2500 screens by 2030, which it hopes will attract nearly $US1 billion ($A1.3 billion) in annual box office sales.
"The restoration of cinemas will ... help boost the local economy by increasing household spending on entertainment while supporting job creation in the kingdom," Culture and Information Minister Awwad Alawwad said in a statement.
AMC is partnering with the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's main sovereign wealth fund.
Aron said he expected the same versions of films show in countries such as Dubai or Kuwait will be suitable for Saudi Arabia.
"Hollywood has long ago dealt with the sensitivities of the Middle East and have adjusted film product accordingly," he said. "Major Hollywood studios are showing films all over the Middle East right now."
