India’s Carnival Cinemas and a partner in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are in talks to buy Qatar-based Novo Cinemas’ theatres in the UAE and Bahrain, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

A number of cinemas in Bahrain have raised the price of entry tickets to 3.5 dinars as of mid- June, i.e is 16 percent increase compared to 3 dinars.

Dozens of Saudi families flocked to the movies on Friday for the first time in almost 40 years after the lifting of a ban on a form of entertainment once deemed corrupting and un-Islamic.

Grand Cinema, one of the leading cinemas in the Middle East, will officially open in the Kingdom on May 3 at The Walk Mall, Riffa. The Grand Cinema will have 12 theatres with a total of 1233 seats, designed with the latest technology and techniques.

Saudi Arabia’s first cinema in more than 35 years will open on April 18 in Riyadh, the capital, the authorities said.

The Saudi ambassador to Bahrain said that Bahraini companies have made offers for the establishment, management and opening of cinemas in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia began screening feature-length animated children's films this weekend in a makeshift theater, after a 35-year-old ban on cinemas was lifted in the conservative Islamic kingdom.

BBC channel said that “Bahrainis threaten to boycott cinemas” after the increase in tickets prices.

The cinema tickets prices in City Center Mall increased yesterday from 3 to 3.5 BD, which angered citizens and made them call to boycott the cinema through launching several hashtags, especially that this increase coincided with an increase in the gasoline prices and the selective tax, which added burden to the citizens.