Top 5 Egyptian movies of 2017 with revenues peak

CAIRO – 25December 2017: Egyptian movies in 2017 achieved total revenues of approximately LE 150 million. The Egyptian cinema has considerably regained strength in 2017 after suffering an obvious recession in the past three years.
Egypt Today has compiled a report on the five highest grossing movies of 2017.

”El Khaleya” (The Cell)
“El Khaleya” achieved not only the highest revenues in 2017 but is also the highest grossing movie in Egyptian cinema history. The movie made about LE 55 million.

The movie highlights the continuous efforts exerted by security forces to combat terrorism, as well as the obstacles and the sufferings they face as a result of such tough work. The movie focuses on a special operations officer played by Egyptian megastar Ahmed Ezz.

He works to stop more than one terrorist operation and arrests various terrorist cells. “El-Khaleya” stars besides Ezz, Samer el-Masrie, Mohamed Mamdouh and Amina Khalil. The movie’s script is written by Salah el-Geheny, while Tarek el-Erian wrote the story and directed the movie. The film includes a duet song between famous singers Assala and Mahmoud Elesseily. “El-Khaleya” is considered a high-budget action movie.

Amr Salah, an officer from the special operations sector in the Ministry of Interior, was killed on October 20 during confrontations between police forces and terrorists in an oasis in the Western Desert. He had participated in “El-Khaleya,” training Ezz and fellow actors on police exercises shown in the movie.

Salah also appeared in a few scenes in the film as an actor. He appeared in one scene changing clothes in the locker room, another in a raid, the scene with the armored vehicle, as well as in most of the scenes with Ezz in the camp.

“Horob Edtrary” (Forced Escape)

“Horob Edtrary”, another action movie, comes in the second rank. Starring the super star Ahmed el-Sakka, the movie achieved about LE 43 million.

Adham Awaad (Ahmed el-Sakka), Nada Ramzy (Ghada Adel), Moustafa Mokhtar (Amir Karara) and Mustafa Khater (Youssef Muhammed); the four of them get arrested for killing a businessman in his apartment. The four were indeed in the building where the murder happened, but did they really do it? Adham does his best to escape with the others to find out who the real killer is.

The movie was written by Mohamed Sayed Beshir and directed by Ahmed Khaled Moussa.

“El Kenz” (The Treasure)

The Egyptian movie “El Kenz” (The Treasure) amassed LE 19 million in revenues after about 100 days of screening in Egyptian cinemas, claiming the third rank in 2017.

“El Kenz’s” storyline spans the Pharaonic, Abbasid, Ottoman and modern period of the country, ending in the 1970s. The movie revolves around corruption and how some religious men impose their authority in politics to gain higher positions and power, as well as the issues related to mixing religion with politics.

The movie includes a dazzling cast of Egyptian superstars and actors such as Mohamed Ramadan, Amina Khalil, Sawsan Badr, Mohy Ismail, Mohamed Saad, Hend Sabry and Ahmed Rezk. “El Kenz” is the latest movie directed by Arafa and written by Abdel Rahman Kamal.

Arafa is one of the most important directors in Egypt. He is also known for his captivating stories and excellent quality films.

“Khair w Barka”

In the fourth rank, comes “Khair w Barka”, a comedy that has amassed LE 10 million. “Khair w Barka” is the name of two Egyptian brothers whose ultimate goal in life is to find a job and make their mother proud. During their job search journey, they find themselves in a number of comic situations as a result of their stupidity. “Khair w Barka” stars Ali Rabea, Mohamed Abdelrahman, Mai Selim and Tara Emad. The movie is written by Sherif Naguib and George Azmy and directed by Sameh Abdel Aziz.

Sheikh Jackson

“Sheikh Jackson” is a controversial movie set around the death of music icon Michael Jackson. The plot revolves around a student who loves Michael Jackson's music and imitates the pop star’s performances. His strong relationship as a Salafi reflects the contradictions in his life.


Fast forward to Jackson’s death, the student has become a man and an imam and he embarks on an inner Sufi quest to seek answers to his existential questions.


The movie stars Ahmed el-Fishawy, Amina Khalil, Dorra and Ahmed Malek among others. It was written and directed by Amr Salama.


Egypt has selected “Sheikh Jackson” as its candidate for consideration at the upcoming edition of the Oscars which are set to take place in February 2018.