Today's Edition
SADEQ ALKHOORI (ABU DHABI)
By its second week in UAE cinemas, Nayla Al Khaja's THREE was gaining momentum. Its box-office performance increased by about 35% from the opening week, according to the Emirati director, an experience she says shows why a film's first few days do not necessarily determine its prospects.
“Had it been withdrawn after its first week, that success might never have happened,” Al Khaja told Aletihad.
Her experience points to a wider ambition for Emirati cinema: turning individual releases into an industry where local stories find audiences and filmmakers can move from one production to the next.
According to the National Media Authority, UAE cinemas generated more than Dh734 million at the box office in 2025, selling over 14.8 million tickets across approximately 1,270 films.
The figures show the scale of the UAE cinema market, although they do not indicate what share of admissions went to Emirati productions.
Emirati filmmaker Majid Al Ansari, whose films include Zinzana and Hoba (The Vile), said the UAE has developed considerable production capabilities, technical expertise and filmmaking infrastructure. “I think we’ve become very good at facilitating productions. The next stage is becoming equally good at developing and sustaining our own storytellers,” he said.
Finding an Audience
Al Khaja believes a minimum two-week theatrical run would give Emirati films more time to build word of mouth. She also advocates stronger promotion, suitable showtimes and earlier cooperation between filmmakers, distributors and cinema operators.
Gaganpreet Singh, Founder and CEO of Film Master Media Distribution, said exhibitors typically consider expected demand, advance bookings and actual admissions when allocating screens.
Strong marketing, recognisable talent and well-positioned releases can help locally produced films compete for attention, he added.
“Local cinema should be promoted not only as a cultural initiative but also as commercially viable entertainment,” Singh said.
Al Ansari said audience development begins before a premiere. Genre, production budgets and distribution strategies can influence whether a film finds viewers locally or internationally.
He said original Emirati stories could reach wider audiences while retaining their cultural identity, particularly when financing and distribution are considered from the development stage.
Building Careers between Projects
The UAE's production ecosystem is also creating work for locally based film professionals.
According to Abu Dhabi's Creative Media Authority, 248 UAE-based crew members and four interns worked on the Egyptian feature Sakr and Canaria during a 10-day shoot in Al Ain in 2025.
Investment is also being directed towards productions involving Emirati talent. In June 2025, the authority announced a Dh55 million partnership with NG9 Group covering two feature films and a 10-episode television series, with plans to involve Emiratis on screen and behind the scenes.
For independent creators, the Ministry of Culture's National Grant Programme for Culture and Creativity offers eligible Emiratis up to Dh100,000 for creation and production projects, including filmmaking.
The bigger test is whether work on individual productions develops into continued employment and repeat projects.
A 2025 study co-authored by Noha Mellor, Professor of Media at the University of Sharjah, drew on interviews with 10 Emirati film professionals to examine the opportunities and challenges posed by streaming services.
Mellor identified financing, industry connections and continued paid work as important factors, alongside script development, marketing and professional production experience.
“We can then measure sustainability by the number of local filmmakers who are able to move from their first film to their second and third while continuing to earn a living from filmmaking,” Mellor said.
More than One Screen
Dale Hudson, Associate Professor of Film and New Media at NYU Abu Dhabi, said the future of Emirati cinema need not depend exclusively on mainstream commercial releases.
He highlighted Sharjah Film Platform, Cinema Akil and Cinema Space as alternative venues where filmmakers can reach specialised audiences and engage in wider cultural discussions.
Hudson said such platforms can provide space for independent and experimental productions aimed at audiences outside the mainstream multiplex market.
Alongside streaming, festivals and theatrical distribution, these venues give filmmakers different routes to audiences.
For Al Ansari, the goal is to connect these routes into an industry where original Emirati films can find audiences and their creators can keep working.
“I want to see a future where an Emirati filmmaker can make a horror film, a comedy, a thriller, or an action film, find an audience locally and internationally, and make enough money to continue creating,” he said.
