Matloub Aelian (Wanted by Family), the Karim Abdel Aziz comedy, has grossed EGP52.2m ($930,000) in Egypt in its first 19 days, from about 336,400 tickets at 90 cinemas, the Cairo daily Al-Masry Al-Youm reported on Monday 26 October. It is no longer the country’s daily No. 1. On Sunday it came second, behind Wala Kan Ala El Bal, a romantic comedy that opened on Wednesday 21 October.
Key facts
- Matloub Aelian (Synergy Plus): EGP52.2m ($930,000) and 336,400 tickets in Egypt after 19 days, from a 7 October release
- In Saudi Arabia it has taken about SAR9.3m ($2.48m) from 173,100 tickets in three weeks, Voice of Emirates reported on 26 October
- Wala Kan Ala El Bal (Film Square): EGP8.4m ($150,000) in its first four days from 21 October
- Sunday 25 October: Matloub Aelian took about EGP1.21m ($21,500) from 7,910 tickets, second for the day
The film, directed by Moataz El Tony from a script by Sherif El Leithy, casts Abdel Aziz as Farouk, a supermarket manager whose family life is upended when his wife’s brother enters it. Yasmine Sabri plays the wife and Mostafa Khater the brother. Tamer Morsi’s Synergy Plus produced it with the Malaysian company Infinity Films, and more than 40% was shot in and around Kuala Lumpur, according to Infinity. Synergy Film handles the Egyptian release; Go Media distributes it in other Arab and international markets.
Slowing at home
The Egyptian total is still rising, but more slowly. Al-Ahram put it at EGP41.18m ($730,000) after two weeks, so the film added about EGP11m in the following week. Its Sunday take of roughly EGP1.21m compares with an average of about EGP3m a day over its first two weeks.
Cinema Track, which compiles daily figures for Egyptian titles, showed Matloub Aelian at EGP53.4m by Monday 26 October, with about 67,100 tickets sold over the previous seven days. Those figures are unofficial.
The newcomer
Wala Kan Ala El Bal is the first feature from director Ahmed Emad, written by Eyad Saleh and produced by Ahmed Badawi’s Film Square. Set in Luxor, it stars Nour El Nabawy as Hassan, a young man whom a businessman asks to win over his daughter, Yara. Yasmina El Abd and Ashraf Abdel Baky co-star.
It took more than EGP2.2m on Thursday 22 October, its second day, according to figures the film distributor Mahmoud El Dafrawy gave the entertainment site Washwasha. By Saturday night its total was EGP8.43m, with EGP1.94m on Saturday alone, Cairo 24 reported. On Monday 26 October, Cinema Track showed it taking about EGP1.41m, ahead of Matloub Aelian’s EGP1.10m, and playing in 59 cinemas, against 90 for the older film.
Saudi Arabia outearns the home market
At the pegged rate of SAR3.75 to the dollar, Matloub Aelian’s SAR9.3m in three weeks in Saudi Arabia is worth about $2.48m, more than two and a half times its Egyptian gross of $930,000 after 19 days. It came from about 173,100 tickets, against 336,400 sold in Egypt. The difference is price: on these figures the average Saudi ticket cost about SAR54 ($14), against about EGP155 ($2.75) in Egypt.
The film opened across the Gulf on 8 October after a premiere at Vox Cinemas in Dubai, and is booked into more than 25 countries, according to its producers. Our coverage of the region’s Red Sea Fund and of who is taking films to audiences has more on how Arab-world releases are financed and sold.
For scale, 7 Dogs, released in May and the top title on Cinema Track’s all-time list for Egyptian films, finished on about EGP271.5m ($4.8m). More charts are in our box office section.
Our reading
For Egyptian producers, a film like this now earns much of its money abroad. A strong Saudi run can outweigh a solid one at home, which pushes casting, release dates and marketing towards the Gulf. The next number to watch is the Saudi total for week four, and whether Wala Kan Ala El Bal travels to the Gulf at all.
Dollar conversions use the Central Bank of Egypt rate of about EGP56.3 to the dollar on 26 October.
Sources
- Al-Masry Al-Youm, 26 October 2026
- Al-Ahram Gate, 19 October 2026
- Cairo 24, 25 October 2026
- Washwasha (distributor Mahmoud El Dafrawy), 23 October 2026
- Cinema Track, Egyptian daily box office
- Voice of Emirates, 26 October 2026
- BroadcastPro Middle East, 7 October 2026
- Infinity Films, project page
- Central Bank of Egypt exchange rates, via Tibr, 26 October 2026