Saudi comedy “Alzarfa: Escape from Hanhounia Hell” dominated the weekend box office frame in Saudi Arabia, beating global blockbusters “Jurassic World Rebirth” and “F1: The Movie.”
The wacky heist caper about a botched attempt by three friends to steal a treasure called “The Golden Rashrash” from a museum owned by an eccentric billionaire named Abdullatif Al-Hanhouni now tops the Saudi box office chart, having scored 213,000 admissions and a box office haul of $2.7 million in its first three days on release, according to figures provided by Italia Film, which is the region’s top distributor.
By contrast, “Jurassic World Rebirth” weighed in at number three in Saudi with just 55,000 admissions, earning just over $800,000 in its first frame.
“F1,” in its second frame, came in second at the Saudi box office with 70,000 admissions for a $1.2 million take and a $3.8 million cumulative gross-to-date.
“Alzarfa: Escape from Hanhounia Hell” is produced by Saudi’s Alshimaisi Films and Telfaz11, who are the companies behind the kingdom’s all-time local box office hit “Sattar,” in partnership with Big Time Fund, while Qanawat is handling distribution. “Sattar” in 2023 scored more than $10 million at the home box office becoming the kingdom’s highest grossing local title since the kingdom revoked a 35-year ban on the operation of commercial movie theaters in December 2017.
“Alzarfa” combines the heist movie and film-within-a-film genres given that the three friends, who end up behind bars after their failed heist attempt, subsequently wind up in a movie being bankrolled by the eccentric Saudi tycoon they had tried to rob. The film, about the tycoon’s family’s history, is set in the same locations that the trio had tried to rob. The location is also where “The Golden Rashrash,” which they are on a mission to retrieve, had been stashed.
The action comedy marks the feature film debut of Abdullah Majed, whose previous credits include short film “Safraa’s Night” and the TV drama “Ureem: Balcony Hotel.”
The “Alzarfa” cast features Mohammed Shaif, Hamed Sharari, Ahmed Al-Kaabi, Ibrahim Alkhairallah, and a special appearance by U.S. actor Robert Knepper (“Prison Break”).
After bowing big in Saudi, “Alzarfa” is now gearing up for a wider regional rollout in the coming weeks.
Just as Saudi Arabia’s box office seems to have plateaued to between $200 and $250 million a year it is becoming increasingly common to see Saudi movies beating Hollywood blockbusters at local cinemas.
The most recent case in point, prior to “Alzarfa,” is Saudi filmmaker Abdulaziz Alshlahei’s drama “Hobal,” about clashes between tradition and modernity within a Saudi family during the early 1990s. In February “Hobal” outperformed Hollywood titles such as “Mufasa: The Lion King,” “Flight Risk” and “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” in Saudi cinemas.
“It’s incredibly exciting to see another Saudi film take the lead during a packed summer slate,” said executive producer and Alshimaisi Films CEO Ibrahim Alkhairallah in a statement.
“Following the success of “Sattar,” “Alzarfa” is further proof that audiences are craving locally-rooted stories told in our own voice but on a scale that can rival the biggest global titles,” he added.
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