THE good people of Saudi Arabia may never want to watch another movie again.

To celebrate the December 11 lifting of a 35-year-old ban on the public screening of films, the Saudis chose for their first flick The Emoji Movie, which was presented in a small makeshift cinema on Sunday.

“Until now, there [was] no infrastructure for movie theatres, so we are trying to take advantage of [alternative] venues to approximate the cinematic form,” organiser Mamdouh Salim told Reuters.

The move is part of an ongoing liberal streak for the conservative Islamic nation, led largely by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in an effort to broaden the economy, Reuters reports. Permanent movie theatres are expected to open by March.

The authorities plan to open 300 cinemas with 2000 screens by 2030.

Sultan al-Otaibi attended The Emoji Movie screening with his wife and daughter, and the trio had an app-tastic time.

“It’s more comfortable, more fun to have a change of scenery and an activity on the weekend,” he said. “It is a step that was very late in coming but thank God it’s happening now.”

When the family comedy was released in July, the critically derided flick scored just 9 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes — and that was generous.

Some of the reviews included:

“It is one of the darkest, most dismaying films I have ever seen, much less one ostensibly made for children.” — New York Magazine

“The Emoji Movie is almost as bad and brutally depressing as everything else in 2017.” — indieWire

“Lacks humour, wit, ideas, visual style, compelling performances, a point of view or any other distinguishing characteristic that would make it anything but a complete waste of your time.” — The Wrap

“The Emoji Movie is not just a critical flop, but also a metaphor for a Hollywood that is struggling to find the line between branding that audiences love and branding that audiences resent.” — The Atlantic

The first film to be screened in Saudi Arabia after a 35-year ban on cinemas was 'The Emoji Movie'.



Prepare for the ban to be immediately reinstated. https://t.co/O3XceH0029 pic.twitter.com/fn22i6HOB9 — One Room With A View (@1RoomWithAView) January 15, 2018

This article originally appeared in The New York Post and has been republished here with permission.