With box office takings nudging four million a day during Eid – more than the total profits made over the last Eid season – cinemas in Egypt are definitely back on their feet.
Movie distributors seemed highly satisfied with the profits, which remained unaffected by flu fears or a general state of depression that has gripped many Egyptians following Egypt’s loss to Algeria as well as the assaults committed by Algerian spectators against their Egyptian counterparts.
Competing fiercely for the number one spot at the box office were Mohamed Heneidy’s movie Ameer el-Behar (The Prince of Seas), and Kareem Abdel Aziz’s movie Welad el-Amm (The Cousins). The distributors for Heneidy’s movie said that it made LE4 million in profits over the first three days of Eid. The film brought in LE420,000 on the day before Eid, LE1.175 million on the first day of Eid, LE1.68 million on the second day, and LE1.587 million on the third. Abdel Aziz’s movie, on the other hand, made LE581,000 on the day before Eid, LE1.112 million on the first day of Eid, LE1.421 million on the second, and LE1.514 million on the third, said its distributors.
Mohamed Adel Emam’s movie el-Beih Romancy (The Beih is Romantic) made more than a million in profits over the Eid vacation. Mohamed Adel Emam, son of famous comedian Adel Emam, plays his first starring role in the film but his movie surprisingly ranked third among the Eid movies. The movie made LE381,000 on the first day of Eid, LE591,000 on the second, and LE572,000 on the third.
Taking the fourth spot was Ramez Galal’s movie Hadd Same’ Haga? (Can anybody hear anything?), which made LE212,000 on the first day of Eid, LE385,000 on the second, and LE310,000 on the third.
Fathi Abdel Wahab’s movie Ezbet Adam (Adam’s Ranch) ended up in fifth place, making LE210,000 on the first day of Eid, LE342,000 on the second, and LE307,000 on the third.
Some cinemas, such as Nile City and City Stars, had to employ four screens or more to show the same movie in order to accommodate the demands of Eid cinema-goers.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
