A report released by Cairo Film Connection, during the Cairo Industry Days (November 16-20), provides key data on recent trends in the Egyptian film industry, including the central role played by Saudi Arabia’s booming exhibition and production sector.
Egyptian cinema is the oldest and most important in the Arab world and has enjoyed fluctuating export success over the decades. Recently, the foreign market has become more lucrative than the local market, especially for a number of Egyptian titles.
Saudi Arabia’s growing exhibition sector is the main source of box office revenue for nine of the top ten Egyptian films exported between 2021 and 2024. Around 27% of the 65 best-selling Saudi box office films of all time are Egyptian.
A small number of Egyptian films have generated much higher revenues abroad than at home. The romantic comedy “Bahebek” (“I Love You”), starring Tamer Hosni, grossed $2.8 million at home but became a smash hit across West Asia, raking in $22.9 million overseas.
Other international hits include “Sons of Rizk 3: Knockout” (2024), which grossed $6.1 million in Egypt and $22.3 million overseas, and “A Stand Worthy of Men” (2021), with $1.7 million in Egypt and $18.3 million overseas.
In 2024, Egyptian films occupied third place in terms of Saudi market share, behind American and Indian titles. A total of 33 Egyptian films were released in Saudi Arabia that year, generating over $53 million, more than double the total revenue generated by all Egyptian films in their domestic market ($23.5 million).
Egyptian-Saudi co-productions benefit from preferential tax treatment on their Saudi box office receipts. Recent examples include Hani Khalifa’s thriller, “Flight 404,” which is Egypt’s official entry to the 97th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film.
The importance of foreign exports has been further reinforced by the fall in the dollar value of Egypt’s box office – from $59.6 million in 2019 to a projected $36 million in 2025. This decline is due to a significant depreciation in the Egyptian pound exchange rate. Box office revenues in local currency have in fact doubled since 2019, due to the double-digit inflation recorded since 2022.
Egyptian cinema is still recovering from the pandemic crisis. Admissions were 12 million in 2024 and are expected to reach 13.8 million by the end of 2025, close to the pre-pandemic level.
The largest segment of the Egyptian cinema audience is aged 18 to 29, representing 20% of the total population and 42.7% of the working population.
Egyptian films make up about 20% of all films released, but bring together almost 70% of the total box office, with American films accounting for 28.5% in 2025. Big-budget Egyptian comedies and action/adventure films traditionally dominate the local box office. In 2025, two Hollywood films entered the Top 10 at the box office: “F1” and “The Conjuring: Last Rites”, this is the first time in several years that two foreign titles have entered the Top 10.
Local audiences no longer focus solely on big-budget productions. For example, Omar El Mohandes’ low-budget comedy “Siko Siko”, starring Essam Omar and Taha Desouky, grossed around $4 million in Egypt and another $4.2 million in Saudi Arabia, making it the second most successful film in the history of Egyptian cinema.
Interest in arthouse titles is also increasing. Khaled Mansour’s 2024 Venetian film, “Searching for Mr. Rambo” (2024), grossed $341,000, making it the largest arthouse release ever in Egypt.
In recent years, the main film distributor has been Synergy, but was overtaken in 2025 by Misr International Films. In 2025, former Synergy director Ahmed Badawy launched a new company, Film Square, which is gaining market share. The main distributor of foreign films, including Hollywood titles, is United Motion Pictures, which, thanks to the recent success of blockbusters such as “F1”, has overtaken several distributors of Egyptian films. One promising player is UVF, a subsidiary of the Saudi media conglomerate Arab Radio and Television Network, which, according to the CFC report, focuses on financing and distributing low-budget Egyptian films as a prelude to their international release, particularly in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
The CFC report also provides a comprehensive overview of the results of the first 10 editions of Cairo Film Connection, which, through its proposals, mentoring and financial and in-kind rewards, has played a key role in helping Arab filmmakers complete their films and reach local and international audiences, including leading festivals.
Recent successes include “Four Girls” (2023) by Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia) – nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars, “Inshallah a Boy” (2023), by Amjad Al Rasheed (Jordan), premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and “Aïcha” (2024) by Mehdi Barsaoui (Morocco), premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
