Saudi Arabia to open its first cinema in decades on April 18

Los Angeles

SAUDI Arabia's first cinema in more than 35 years will open on April 18 in Riyadh, the capital, the authorities said on Wednesday 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, and the first screening will be Marvel's superhero movie Black Panther, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.