Rabat – Against all odds, cinephiles emerged as a great economic force in Morocco in 2024, driving an unrivaled increase in movie theatre attendance and tugging major revenues.
Once perceived by people as a niche pastime, the big-screen experience became very popular, pulling millions of masses and transforming Morocco’s entertainment graph altogether.
Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid told the House of Representatives on Monday that movie theaters’ income rose to MAD 127 million ($12.77 million) in 2024, compared to MAD 89 million ($8.77 million) in 2023 and MAD 77 million ($7.36 million) in 2022.
The audiences also flocked to theaters with higher numbers at 2.2 million, compared to 1.7 million during the previous year.
Bensaid attributed this to the proliferation of theatres across Morocco with increased competition.
Nonetheless, it is not all about record-breaking numbers for movie theaters when it comes to Morocco’s entertainment industry, but the start of where the camera was rolling.
Foreign projects for movie production reached MAD 1.5 billion ($150.9 million) in 2024, compared with MAD 1 billion ($98.7 million) in 2023 and MAD 600 million ($57.4 million) in 2022.
The milestone investment shows the ascendance of Morocco as a coveted shooting ground for world productions, with its varied landscapes, skilled manpower, and attractive incentives offered by the government beckoning big studios.
These figures suggest a shifting dynamic, whereby cinema is not only surviving but actually gaining traction on the back of local demand and international interest.
With revenue on the rise and foreign productions at an unprecedented level, it seems Morocco’s film industry can only continue to grow, the minister implied.
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