AMC Set to Open First Movie Theater in Saudi Arabia

AMC has a deal in place to open up to 40 cinemas in 15 cities across the country within five years

A host of cultural reforms and initiatives once unheard of in Saudi Arabia were announced during the crown prince’s visit to Los Angeles this week, most notably a plan by AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. to open the country’s first movie theater in 35 years later this month.

The world’s largest exhibitor said Wednesday it had finalized an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund to bring the first new cinema to a country that lifted a decadeslong ban on them only five months ago. The news coincided with a weekslong...