First Arabic Imax Film ‘Ambulance' Set for Sequel, With Ibrahim Al Hajjaj Returning (EXCLUSIVE)
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Popular Saudi Arabian actor and stand-up comic Ibrahim Al Hajjaj's new comedy 'Esaaf' ('Ambulance') directed by British helmer Colin Teague ('Doctor Who,' 'Torchwood'), is already set for a sequel with the same creative team.
'Ambulance' opened on Tuesday, becoming Imax's first Arabic feature film release. It marks Al Hajjaj's follow-up to 2023 wrestling movie 'Sattar,' which pulled more than $30 million, mostly from local markets. It is considered the highest-grossing Saudi film since the 35-year ban on the operation of commercial movie theaters was revoked in December 2017.
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The new Al Hajjaj film is a screwball comedy, following two feuding Saudi paramedics who stumble upon a briefcase containing Saudi Arabian Riyal 2 million ($533,300) and become unwittingly entangled in a high-stakes kidnapping and ransom plot.
'Ambulance' is written by Alberto Lopez ('Rupture') and produced by Al Hajjaj's House of Comedy, Saudi producer Talal Anazi's Black Light Operations and former MBC Studios chief Peter Smith in tandem with Saudi Media Company. The innovative picture premiered on April 15 at Muvi Cinemas' Imax at U Walk in downtown Riyadh to a full house comprising press, Arab celebrities and industry insiders.
'Ambulance' will also be having its festival premiere in competition at the upcoming Saudi Film Festival, which is the oldest-running film event in the kingdom, and is set for wider distribution across the Gulf region and the Middle East in coming weeks.
Lopez said he is currently writing the 'Ambulance' sequel, which will be produced by Black Light and House of Comedy with tentative plans to shoot in October and release the film in Saudi in April 2026.
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