Two new movie complexes are expected to open in Qatar within “six months,” a senior Qatar-Bahrain Cinemas official has said.

The first will be a 350-seat complex in Al Khor, and the second a 2,400 cinema complex in northern Qatar – possibly in Festival City.

The openings may come as somewhat of a relief to residents tired of overcrowding at existing mall cinemas.

Some 18,000 people turned out to watch movies at City Center and Villaggio over Eid al-Adha weekend, Qatar-Bahrain Cinema’s director general Mohammed Ali told Al Arab.

And in August, when Villaggio mall was still closed following the May 28 fire, he said nearly 20,000 people flocked to City Center mall to watch films over Eid al-Fitr holidays.

Plans are also afoot to open a giant $10 million cinema complex at the Pearl-Qatar’s Medina Centrale “this year,” the CEO of UAE-based Gulf Film, which is building the facility, said in June.

The cinema is likely one of some 50 multiplex facilities that Qatar-owned Q.media, which has just acquired a majority stake in Gulf Film, plans to open over the next three years.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo courtesy of City Center’s Facebook page