UAE’s Vox Cinemas inks deal with Odex to distribute Japanese anime titles

Vox Cinemas, the cinema arm of UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim, has signed an exclusive deal with Japanese animation film distributor Odex to distribute anime movies across the MENA region.

Under the new deal, six titles will be released in theaters across eight territories.

Included among the upcoming releases is Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train, the top-grossing film of all time in Japan and one which recently recorded the biggest foreign language debut in US box office history.

Demon Slayer is based on a popular manga and TV anime series and will release in Vox Cinemas on May 13 across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Egypt and will be available to view in several formats including standard, 4DX, MX4D and IMAX.

Go Wei Ho, managing director, Odex, Singapore, said, “Having more than 20 years of experience in the Japanese anime industry, Odex has worked with various cinema operators in South East Asia to build up the anime industry in these territories. Now, for its expansion into the Middle East, Odex is confident that working with Vox Cinemas, a successful and leading cinema exhibitor in the Middle East, the partnership will mark another significant milestone for both Odex and Vox to develop the Japanese anime industry in the Middle East.”

Vox Cinemas has previously entered into similar exclusive distribution agreements for the region. In addition to being the Middle East’s largest exhibitor, Vox Cinemas also produces content and operates a regional film distribution business as part of its vertical integration strategy. In 2018, it signed an exclusive distribution deal with Saudi Arabian animation studio Myrkott to screen its first animation feature Masameer across the MENA region, and this summer it will distribute the Saudi Japanese anime The Journey, having inked a deal with Manga Productions at last year’s Berlin Film Festival.

Speaking on the latest deal with Odex, Toni El Massih, chief content officer at Vox Cinemas added, “The pandemic has forced us to look to new regions for content and, with this deal, we are taking a strategic step in adding even more great movies to our summer movie slate. There is a huge appetite for the Japanese comic book genre in the region and we’re excited to bring an impressive line-up of anime to the big screen.”

In related news, this month, Majid Al Futtaim opened a 15-screen Vox Cinemas multiplex in Dubai’s Wafi City. Vox Cinemas now has 22 cinemas and 237 screens across the UAE.

Read: Majid Al Futtaim opens 15-screen Vox Cinemas at Wafi City in Dubai