Will Saudi Arabia launch cinema theaters soon?

If rumors are to be believed, Saudi Arabia's city of Riyadh is about to welcome the opening of not 1, but 4 cinema theaters. 

Even though the news hasn't been confirmed by the authorities yet, the tittle-tattle has caused quite a meltdown on social media, namely Twitter, late on Thursday. 

In reaction to it, tweeps launched the hashtag 'cinemas opening in Riyadh,' which saw hundreds of thousands of people send out excited reactions. 

"I feel like I am coming alive... we were stuck in the 1990s for such a long time and in the space of one week we're now in 2017" 

Neither Saudi authorities nor the kingdom's official state news agency issued statements, and therefore talks of cinemas opening in the kingdom remain hearsay until further notice. 

This is certainly not the first time unconfirmed reports on movie theatres opening in Saudi go viral. 

A few weeks back, a similar rumor saying that a cinema would open in Jeddah, caused a similar meltdown. 

At the time, authorities responded saying they hadn't issued any document authorizing the opening of a cinema theater in the city. 

Speaking to Okaz newspaper at the time, the head of public relations at Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Entertainment, Sultan Al Qahtani, explained that when any order regarding cinemas in the kingdom is issued, it will officially be announced. 

He also noted that the authority is planning the launch of several initiatives that aim to support art and artists in the kingdom. 

Headed by Amr al-Madani, the authority aims to enhance the cultural and entertainment sector within the country.

In early January, Al Madani revealed that the ban on cinemas may soon be lifted. 

While he gave no official date as to when the country's first cinema would open, many expect that this is set to happen in the coming few weeks.