Saudi-owned manufacturing powerhouse MBC Studios – which is the studio arm of MBC Group, the most important and main media firm within the Center East – has introduced its new lineup of Saudi movie and TV tasks toplined by high-end horror movie (“Travellers’ Hell”) which is slated for theatrical launch within the MENA area this 12 months.
The hotly anticipated Saudi chiller (behind the scenes picture, above) is predicated on a best-selling e book by Saudi creator Osamah Almuslim and directed by Hana Al Omair, who helmed Netflix’s first Saudi authentic collection “Whispers.”
“On a desolate mountain road known as the hunting ground for a notorious serial killer, a young woman picks up a stranded motorist,” says the synopsis. “What begins as a simple act of kindness soon spirals into a nightmare, as their journey becomes a terrifying fight for survival, with dark secrets and danger lurking at every turn.”
MBC beforehand tailored works by Almuslim, most notably the big-budget 2024 feminine empowerment fantasy collection “Rise of The Witches.”
MBC Studios can be adapting one other Almuslim’s horror novel titled “Spider’s Web” right into a characteristic movie, with manufacturing anticipated to begin within the fourth quarter of 2026. “The story follows a group of Saudi female students in Riyadh who suspect their mysterious neighbour is involved in dangerous activities before uncovering a darker secret,” per the synopsis.
MBC can be getting ready to make a fantasy collection based mostly on one other bestselling novel by Almuslim titled “Khawf” (“Fear”). The present revolves round a younger man whose life spirals into terrifying occasions after receiving a mysterious e book from an enigmatic sheikh in line with promotional supplies.
Different standout tasks within the MBC pipeline embody the action-comedy “Mafiosos,” about two Saudi brothers who journey to Italy for enterprise and unexpectedly turn into entangled with the Sicilian mob. The plan is for the long-gestating movie, written by Saudi writers Nawaf Al-Muhanna and Hazem Al-Jaryan, to enter manufacturing later this 12 months.
One other upcoming MBC Studios title is the romantic drama “Forever,” written by Saudi actress and scribe Sarah Taibah, finest identified for quirky romantic black comedy “A Matter of Life and Death” that premiered at Saudi Arabia‘s Purple Sea Movie Pageant in Jeddah final 12 months.
MBC Studios additionally confirmed plans for cameras to roll by 12 months’s finish on a Saudi comedy that may mark its first characteristic co-produced in tandem with modern Saudi shingle Telfaz11 beneath their partnership which was first introduced in the course of the Purple Sea fest in 2024. Different particulars on this challenge are being saved beneath wraps.
Telefaz11 is the groundbreaking firm behind native hits together with darkish comedy “Mandoob,” during which a struggling man turns into a bootleg booze runner in Ryadh, wrestling comedy “Sattar,” and heist caper “Alzarfa: Escape from Hanhounia Hell.”
The MBC Studios slate was introduced in the course of the Cannes Film Festival, shortly after MBC’s $150 million tentpole “Desert Warrrior,” starring Anthony Mackie, flopped spectacularly, grossing a mere $700,000 within the U.S. and throughout the Arab world in the course of the two weeks following its April 23 theatrical launch and serving as a cautionary story.
In Cannes Samar Akrouk, who’s MBC Studios’ managing director, throughout a panel on Arab cinema held in collaboration with the Arab Cinema Middle and the Marché du Movie, identified that MBC has now modified its philosophy relating to budgets.
“I feel that large-scale film productions have been making headlines, and I understand that because big budgets lead to big ambitions, and of course, big expectations,” she mentioned. However “Things have changed at MBC Studios,” Akrouk went on to notice. “It’s not about substantial budgets; it’s about the right budget,” she underlined.
