MPM Premium has signed a deal with the Saudi Arabian thriller Mandoub, which broke box office records in its local release last year.
The company sold the film to India (Superfine), Latin America (Encryptor), Australia (SBS), and Indonesia (Falcon). Meanwhile, negotiations are underway with France, the United States, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Mandoob (also known as Night Courier in some regions) is the feature directorial debut of Ali Kalthami, co-founder of Saudi studio Telfaz11. Set in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, it depicts a mentally fragile man who races against time to save his sick father.
It premiered in Toronto in September 2023, ahead of its MENA premiere at the Red Sea Competition last year.
Mandoub earned $1.58 million from 114,000 admissions in its first two weeks through Front Row Arabia on its opening weekend in Saudi Arabia last December, beating Wonka for the U.S. studio title. . This is the highest opening for a domestic title since Saudi Arabia lifted a 35-year ban on theater screenings in December 2017, with the film grossing more than $7 million.
It was released in UK cinemas through Metis Films earlier this year. Meanwhile, it landed on Netflix in the MENA region on October 31st. Mandubu is a success story for Red Sea, which passed through the Souk Project market in the first festival of 2021.
MPM is also participating in this year’s Red Sea, with the regional premiere of Lotfi Achor’s terrorism drama Red Road of the Red Sea Competition tonight at 10:15 pm at Culture Square (Cinema 1). Before tomorrow’s performance of Melzak Al-Ash’s comedy “Front Row” at Arab Spectacular from 5:15 p.m.
