Saudi-owned production powerhouse MBC Studios – which is the studio arm of MBC Group, the largest and leading media company in the Middle East – has announced its new lineup of Saudi film and TV projects toplined by high-end horror film (“Travellers’ Hell”) which is slated for theatrical release in the MENA region this year.
The 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’s first Saudi original series “Whispers.”
“On a desolate mountain road known as the hunting ground for a notorious serial killer, a young woman picks up a stranded motorist,” says the synopsis. “What 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.”
MBC previously adapted works by Almuslim, most notably the big-budget 2024 female empowerment fantasy series “Rise of The Witches.”
MBC Studios is also adapting another Almuslim’s horror novel titled “Spider’s Web” into a feature film, with production expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2026. “The 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,” per the synopsis.
MBC is also preparing to make a fantasy series based on another bestselling novel by Almuslim titled “Khawf” (“Fear”). 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.
Other standout projects in the MBC pipeline include the action-comedy “Mafiosos,” 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 Nawaf Al-Muhanna and Hazem Al-Jaryan, to go into production later this year.
Another upcoming MBC Studios title is the romantic drama “Forever,” written by Saudi actress and scribe Sarah Taibah, best known for quirky romantic black comedy “A Matter of Life and Death” that premiered at Saudi Arabia‘s Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah last year.
MBC Studios also confirmed plans for cameras to roll by year’s end on a Saudi comedy that will mark its first feature co-produced in tandem with innovative Saudi shingle Telfaz11 under their partnership which was first announced during the Red Sea fest in 2024. Other details on this project are being kept under wraps.
Telefaz11 is the groundbreaking company behind local hits including dark comedy “Mandoob,” in which a struggling man becomes a bootleg booze runner in Ryadh, wrestling comedy “Sattar,” and heist caper “Alzarfa: Escape from Hanhounia Hell.”
The MBC Studios slate was announced during the Cannes Film Festival, shortly after MBC’s $150 million tentpole “Desert Warrrior,” starring Anthony Mackie, flopped spectacularly, 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.
In Cannes Samar Akrouk, who is MBC Studios’ managing director, during a panel on Arab cinema held in collaboration with the Arab Cinema Center and the Marché du Film, pointed out that MBC has now changed its philosophy when it comes to budgets.
“I 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,” she said. But “Things have changed at MBC Studios,” Akrouk went on to note. “It’s not about substantial budgets; it’s about the right budget,” she underlined.
Source: variety.com
