{"id":461800,"date":"2026-05-22T13:41:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T13:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/461800\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T13:41:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T13:41:10","slug":"saudi-powerhouse-mbc-studios-unveils-slate-toplined-by-horror-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/461800\/","title":{"rendered":"Saudi Powerhouse MBC Studios Unveils Slate Toplined By Horror Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSaudi-owned production powerhouse MBC Studios<\/a> \u2013 which is the studio arm of MBC\u00a0Group, the largest and leading media company in the Middle East \u2013 has announced its new lineup of Saudi film and TV projects toplined by high-end horror film (\u201cTravellers\u2019 Hell\u201d) which is slated for theatrical release in the MENA region this year.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe hotly anticipated Saudi chiller (behind the scenes image, above) is based on a best-selling book by Saudi author Osamah Almuslim and directed by Hana Al Omair, who helmed Netflix\u2019s first Saudi original series\u00a0\u201cWhispers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOn a desolate mountain road known as the hunting ground for a notorious serial killer, a young woman picks up a stranded motorist,\u201d says the synopsis. \u201cWhat begins as a simple act of kindness soon spirals into a nightmare, as their journey becomes a terrifying fight for survival, with dark secrets and danger lurking at every turn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMBC previously adapted works by Almuslim, most notably the big-budget 2024 female empowerment fantasy series \u201cRise of The Witches.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tMBC Studios is also adapting another Almuslim\u2019s horror novel titled\u00a0\u201cSpider\u2019s Web\u201d\u00a0into a feature film, with production expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2026. \u201cThe story follows a group of Saudi female students in Riyadh who suspect their mysterious neighbour is involved in dangerous activities before uncovering a darker secret,\u201d per the synopsis.<\/p>\n

\n\tMBC is also preparing to make a fantasy series based on another bestselling novel by Almuslim titled \u00a0\u201cKhawf\u201d\u00a0(\u201cFear\u201d). The show revolves around a young man whose life spirals into terrifying events after receiving a mysterious book from an enigmatic sheikh according to promotional materials.<\/p>\n

\n\tOther standout projects in the MBC pipeline include the action-comedy \u201cMafiosos,\u201d about two Saudi brothers who travel to Italy for business and unexpectedly become entangled with the Sicilian mob. The plan is for the long-gestating film, written by Saudi writers\u00a0Nawaf Al-Muhanna\u00a0and\u00a0Hazem Al-Jaryan, to go into production later this year.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother upcoming MBC Studios title is the romantic drama\u00a0\u201cForever,\u201d written by Saudi actress and scribe\u00a0Sarah Taibah, best known for quirky romantic black comedy \u201cA Matter of Life and Death\u201d that premiered at Saudi Arabia<\/a>\u2018s Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah last year.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

\n\tMBC Studios also confirmed plans for cameras to roll by year\u2019s end on a Saudi comedy that will mark its first feature co-produced in tandem with innovative Saudi shingle\u00a0Telfaz11 under their partnership which was first announced during the Red Sea fest in 2024. Other details on this project are being kept under wraps.<\/p>\n

\n\tTelefaz11 is the groundbreaking company behind local hits including dark comedy \u201cMandoob,\u201d in which a struggling man becomes a bootleg booze runner in Ryadh, wrestling comedy \u201cSattar,\u201d and heist caper\u00a0 \u201cAlzarfa: Escape from Hanhounia Hell.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe MBC Studios slate was announced during the Cannes Film Festival<\/a>, shortly after MBC\u2019s $150 million tentpole \u201cDesert Warrrior,\u201d starring Anthony\u00a0Mackie, flopped spectacularly<\/a>, grossing a mere $700,000 in the U.S. and across the Arab world during the two weeks following its April 23 theatrical release and serving as a cautionary tale.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn Cannes Samar Akrouk, who is MBC Studios\u2019 managing director, during a panel on Arab cinema held in collaboration with the Arab Cinema Center and the March\u00e9 du Film, pointed out that MBC has now changed its philosophy when it comes to budgets.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI feel that large-scale film productions have been making headlines, and I understand that because big budgets lead to big ambitions, and of course, big expectations,\u201d she said. But \u201cThings have changed at\u00a0MBC\u00a0Studios,\u201d Akrouk went on to note. \u201cIt\u2019s not about substantial budgets; it\u2019s about the right budget,\u201d she underlined.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Saudi-owned production powerhouse MBC Studios \u2013 which is the studio arm of MBC\u00a0Group, the largest and leading media…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461801,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[10532,93,61,60,199950,270,383],"class_list":["post-461800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-cannes-film-festival","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mbc-studios","tag-movies","tag-saudi-arabia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}