Saudi Freestyle Wrestling, Feelgood Hit ‘Sattar’ To Get U.K. Release As Front Row Strikes Deal With Odeon Cinemas
25.01.2023 - 16:23
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Saudi feelgood comedy-drama Sattar, which has enjoyed a record-breaking theatrical run at home, will hit U.K. cinemas next month in a release spearheaded by MENA region distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment.
Sattar, which is set in the world of freestyle wrestling, will be only the second Saudi Arabian film to be released theatrically in the U.K. after Haifa Al Mansoor’s ground-breaking 2012 international breakout Wadjda.
The film will launch on around 10 U.K. screens in London and other major U.K. cities, including Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Leeds, on February 10.
Front Row, which has struck a direct distribution, revenue-sharing deal with Odeon Cinemas, is aiming to catch the wave of the film’s success in Saudi Arabia.
The target audience is Saudi Arabian and Gulf citizens living in the U.K. but Front Row expects it to appeal to a wider Arabic-speaking audience as well as local spectators without MENA ties.
Sattar was released in Saudi Arabia on December 29, after a premiere at the Red Sea International Film Festival, and then expanded in the rest of the Arabia Gulf on January 19.
The film has topped the Saudi box office for close to a month, drawing more spectators than Avatar: The Way Of Life in the territory.
To date, it has clocked up more than 370,000 admissions, for a box office of $5M, against 302,000 spectators and a $4.8M gross for Avatar across its six-week run. This result represents 37% of the total Saudi Arabian box office for 2023 to date.
The feel-good comedy-drama is directed by Kuwaiti director Abdullah Al Arak and stars popular Saudi Arabian actor and stand-up comedian Ibrahim Al Hajjaj, whose other credits include the action series Rashash and Netflix’s