The blockbuster Egyptian film Kira & El Gin has done it, officially becoming the highest grossing film in the history of Egyptian cinema.
The film, which has garnered huge approval from critics and audiences alike, has achieved the feat in just six weeks, after premiering on June 30th in Egypt before opening across the region.
The film has now grossed EGP 104,174,182, surpassing the previous record of EGP 103,633,291.
Marwan Hamed is no stranger to breaking records. In fact, he unseated his own film Blue Elephant 2 to achieve the feat, the previous highest grossing film in Egyptian history, released in 2019.
Based on the novel 1919 by Ahmed Mourad, the epic war drama chronicles Egypt’s resistance against British rule in the early days of the 20th century.
The film previously broke the record for biggest opening weekend in Egyptian history, grossing EGP 26.5 million in its first three days. To achieve the feat post-pandemic is even more impressive, one would argue.
Kira & El Gin started filming before the pandemic, completing production after activities resumed. The film stars Karim Abdel Aziz as Kira, and Ahmed Ezz as El Gin.
The film also stars Hend Sabry and Razane Jammal.
Jammal, speaking to Esquire Middle East, is proud to have become a crossover-star both in the Middle East and abroad, starring in both the highest-grossing film in Egypt, as well as the most-watched show on Netflix, The Sandman, streaming now.
“Now I can not only work on beautiful projects with talented people here in the region, but also work internationally to help contribute positively to the way Arabs are perceived across the world. I will always do that to the best of my ability,” Jammal told me.
Read more from our interview with Razan Jammal here, and stay tuned for an exclusive conversation with Marwan Hamed.
Want to know the other top films in the history of the Egyptian box office? Look no further.
Top 10 highest-grossing films in Egyptian history
- Kira & El Gin – EGP 104,174,182
- Blue Elephant 2 – EGP 103,633,291
- Sons of Rezk Part 2 – EGP 99,145,910
- Casablanca – EGP 79,156,808
- The Passage – EGP 74,495,223
- The Suit – EGP 67,085,009
- The Secret Men’s Club – EGP 59,719,314
- Karmouz War – EGP 57,634,545
- The Cell – EGP 56,004,004
- Forced Escape – EGP 55,551,644