By Martin Dale
According To The variety A report published by the Cairo Film Connection, during Cairo Industry Days (Nov. 16-20), provides key data on recent trends in the Egyptian film industry, including the pivotal role played by Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning exhibition and production sector.
Egyptian cinema is the oldest and largest in the Arab world and has enjoyed fluctuating export success over the decades. Recently the foreign market has become more lucrative than the local market, above all for a select number of Egyptian titles.
Saudi Arabia’s rapidly expanding exhibition sector ranks as the primary source of box office revenues for nine out of Egypt’s top 10 film exports between 2021 and 2024. Some 27% of the top 65 films at the all-time Saudi box office are Egyptian. A small number of Egyptian films have earned much higher revenues abroad than at home. Romcom “Bahebek” (“I Love You”), starring Tamer Hosni, grossed $2.8 million at home, but became a breakout hit across West Asia, garnering $22.9 million abroad.
Other international hits include “Sons of Rizk 3: Knockout” (2024) that grossed $6.1 million in Egypt and $22.3 million abroad, and “A Stand Worthy of Men” (2021), with $1.7 million in Egypt and $18.3 million abroad.
In 2024, Egyptian films were ranked third in the Saudi market share, following U.S. and Indian titles. A total of 33 Egyptian films were released in Saudi Arabia that year, generating over $53 million — more than twice the total revenues earned by all Egyptian films in their domestic market ($23.5 million).
Egyptian-Saudi coproductions qualify for preferential tax treatment on their Saudi box office revenues. Recent examples include Hani Khalifa’s thriller, “Flight 404,” which is Egypt’s official submission to the 97th Academy Awards for best international feature.
The importance of foreign exports has been further leveraged by the fall in the dollar value of Egypt’s box office – from $59.6 million in 2019 to a forecast $36 million in 2025. This fall has been driven by significant exchange rate depreciation of the Egyptian pound. Box office revenues in local currency have actually doubled since 2019, due to the double-digit inflation recorded since 2022. Cinemagoing in Egypt is still recovering from the pandemic slump. Admissions were 12 million in 2024 and expected to hit 13.8 million by the end of 2025, close to the pre-pandemic level.
The biggest segment of Egypt’s cinema audience is aged between 18-29 years, representing 20% of the total population and 42.7% of the labor force.
Egyptian films are around 20% of all films released, but garner almost 70% of total box office, with U.S. films standing at 28.5% in 2025. High budget Egyptian comedies and action/adventure films traditionally dominate the local box office. In 2025, two Hollywood films entered the Top 10 at the box-office – “F1” and “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” the first time in several years that two foreign titles have entered the Top 10.
Local audiences no longer focus solely on high-budget productions. For example, Omar El Mohandes’ mid-budget comedy “Siko Siko,” starring Essam Omar and Taha Desouky, grossed around $4 million in Egypt and a further $4.2 million in Saudi Arabia, making it the second highest successful film in the history of Egyptian cinema.
Interest in arthouse titles is also rising. Khaled Mansour’s 2024 Venice-player “Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo” (2024), grossed $341,000, ranking as Egypt’s biggest-ever arthouse release.
Over recent years, the leading film distributor has been Synergy, but has been surpassed in 2025 by Misr International Films. In 2025, Synergy’s former manager, Ahmed Badawy, launched a new company, Film Square, which is building market share. The principal distributor of foreign films, including Hollywood titles, is United Motion Pictures, which due to the recent success of blockbusters such as “F1” has surpassed several Egyptian film distributors. A rising player is UVF, a subsidiary of the Saudi media conglomerate Arab Radio and Television Network, which the CFC report says focuses on financing and distributing mid-budget Egyptian films as a prelude to releasing them internationally, particularly in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
The CFC report also provides a comprehensive overview of the results of the first 10 editions of the Cairo Film Connection, which through its pitching, mentoring and financial and in-kind awards has played a key role in helping Arab filmmakers complete their films and reach local and international audiences, including A-list festivals.
Recent successes include “Four Daughters” (2023) by Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia) – that was nominated for best documentary feature in the Academy Awards, “Inshallah a Boy” (2023), by Amjad Al Rasheed (Jordan), that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and “Aïcha” (2024) by Mehdi Barsaoui (Morocco), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
