Hollywood actor Idris Elba told a group of investors in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday that the UAE may become the next cinematic hotspot, following Hollywood’s growth in the United States in the early twentieth century.
Idris stated, “When you look at America in the early twentieth century, the creative industry helped shape its economy, culture, and ideals. It helped to truly define America, and Hollywood was formed. The UAE can greatly benefit from reshaping how the world perceives our region by leveraging the creative economy and creating chances.”
During his remarks at the two-day Investopia conference, the actor urged investors to support the film industry’s creative economy.
He went on to say, “There are incredible opportunities in the film industry, yes you could lose your money very quickly, but you can also triple or quadruple the money very quickly.”
“If you look at what Mattel did with the Barbie movie, toys have been steadily declining, but the movie generated $1.5 billion in revenue, and it continues. As a result, doing business with the industry is more appealing to investors.
Over the first two editions, the conference attracted over 3,000 attendees from 58 different countries, 500 C-suite executives, and financial institutions managing more than $500 billion in assets.
The Hollywood icon went on to explain the benefits of investing in the creative business.
