Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation set to become the first Arabic dubbed film to be released in Saudi Arabia  

Empire International, the exclusive theatrical distributor of Sony Pictures Releasing International in the Middle East is set to release Sony Pictures Animation’s Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation across the region today. Along with the English movie, an Arabic dubbed version of the film will be out simultaneously featuring the voice of prominent TV personalities Raya Abi Rached and Qusai Kheder. Both voice talents attended several premieres this week in Dubai, Beirut and most notably in Riyadh yesterday.

The film follows the story of our favorite monster family as they embark on a vacation on a luxury monster cruise ship so Drac can take a summer vacation from providing everyone else's vacation at the hotel. It’s smooth sailing for Drac’s Pack as the monsters indulge in all of the shipboard fun the cruise has to offer, from monster volleyball to exotic excursions, and catching up on their moon tans. But the dream vacation takes a dangerous turn when Mavis realizes Drac has fallen for the human captain of the ship, Ericka, who holds a mysterious secret that threatens them all. Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky and written by Genndy Tartakovsky and Michael McCullers, the film is produced by Michelle Murdocca.

With the Arabic version, Empire International becomes the first distributor to release an Arabic dubbed animation and to host a premiere with talent in Saudi Arabia, a market that relies very heavily on Arabic content. Speaking on the film’s release, President Mario Jr. Haddad, Empire International said, “We are extremely proud to be working on this exceptional project and to be the first distributor to release an Arabic dubbed film in the Kingdom. The first two Hotel Transylvania films found huge success in the Middle East and with the Arabic version, we are very confident that Saudi audiences will fall in love with the franchise, particularly with the presence of our beloved dubbing talent in Qusai and Raya Abi Rached.”  

Raya Abi Rached (Scoop with Raya, Arabs Got Talent), who features as the voice of Ericka in the Arabic version, has been busy touring the region but underlined her excitement for the Arabic release, saying, “It has been an absolute pleasure to work on this film. We are all really excited for everyone to see it in the Arab world, particularly in Saudi Arabia. As a mother and an avid theatergoer myself, I understand the need for more Arabized content and so to be able to contribute to filling this need in the market is such an honor!”

From his end, Qusai also expressed his excitement for the project, saying, "I had a lot of fun working on this title with Raya and the Sony team. I believe in the importance of promoting Arabic content throughout the Middle East and this film is another step towards achieving that." 

Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation is now showing in cinemas throughout the Middle East.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT

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ABOUT SONY PICTURES ANIMATION

Sony Pictures Animation produces a variety of animated and family entertainment for audiences around the world.  The studio is following its worldwide comedy hits—the record-breaking monster comedies Hotel Transylvania and Hotel Transylvania 2, the hybrid live action/animated blockbusters The Smurfs and The Smurfs 2, and the mouth-watering Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movies—with the fully animated reboot Smurfs: The Lost Village available on digital and Blu-ray now; a surprising and comic take at the secret world inside our phones with The Emoji Movie now on Digital HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD; the inspirational The Star now available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital. Next will be Genndy Tartakovsky’s Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation in July 2018; from the minds of Chris Miller and Phil Lord will come next the groundbreaking animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in December 2018, followed by the original feature comedy The Mitchells Vs. The Machines in January 2020; and the animated musical Vivo, featuring original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, in November 2020.  The studio, in conjunction with Aardman Animations, has produced two critically acclaimed feature films:  the CG-animated family comedy Arthur Christmas; and the Academy Award® nominated stop-frame animated high-seas adventure, The Pirates! Band of Misfits.  In 2007, Surf's Up also received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Animated Feature Film; a sequel entitled Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania is now available on digital and DVD.  The division, whose first feature film Open Season led to a very successful movie franchise including the brand new Open Season: Scared Silly now available on digital, DVD and Blu-ray, was founded in 2002.  Sony Pictures Animation is a division of the Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group.