Fox Plans Dubai Theme Park And Resort; ‘Aliens’, ‘Titanic’ & ‘Sons Of Anarchy’ Amid Attractions

Add Fox to the growing list of Hollywood studios that see expanding opportunities in theme parks, especially overseas. It announced this morning plans to introduce a park and resort — 20th Century Fox World, Dubai — in 2018 as part of a deal with Al Ahli Holding Group.
Attractions will be based on Fox properties including Ice Age, Rio, Planet Of The Apes, Aliens, Predator, Night At The Museum, Titanic, The Simpsons, and Sons Of Anarchy.
This will be the studio’s second theme park; one in Malaysia is now scheduled to open in 2017. But Dubai will have the first Fox-branded resort. The arrangement with Al Ahli provides for up to three additional Fox-branded resorts outside Dubai.
The companies didn’t disclose financial terms.
“Fox World will be a world-class destination that will help fuel Dubai’s emergence as a global tourism destination,” Fox Consumer Products president Jeffrey Godsick says.
The studio’s Global Live and Location Based Entertainment SVP Greg Lombardo adds that the park “will provide an ongoing platform for immersive brand engagement with our consumers from around the world, including key international markets of Europe, Russia and China.”
In addition to thrill rides, the partners plan to offer a “themed retail street featuring unique shopping and dining based on Fox properties” as well as “the world’s first Fox-themed resort hotel.”
Fox’s characters “will help us spearhead this project and add value to our latest offering in the global entertainment space” “Al Ahli CEO Mohammed Khammas says.
The Dubai-based conglomerate is eager to expand its presence in entertainment. It recently bought TheAudience, a company that links stars on YouTube and other online platforms with major advertisers.
Rethink Leisure & Entertainment will provide design and production services.
Yesterday, Lionsgate disclosed that it plans to build Hunger Games-based theme parks in the U.S. and China.