عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Entertainment

Disney to Build Its 7th Theme Park, This One in the United Arab Emirates

Disney cast members take part in a parade during a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company, held at Disneyland Paris, in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, on October 16, 2023. (AFP)
Disney cast members take part in a parade during a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company, held at Disneyland Paris, in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, on October 16, 2023. (AFP)
TT
20
TT

Disney to Build Its 7th Theme Park, This One in the United Arab Emirates

Disney cast members take part in a parade during a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company, held at Disneyland Paris, in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, on October 16, 2023. (AFP)
Disney cast members take part in a parade during a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company, held at Disneyland Paris, in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, on October 16, 2023. (AFP)

Disney will build its seventh theme park, this one in the United Arab Emirates, the entertainment company said Wednesday.

The waterfront resort will be built on Yas Island on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, already home to Formula One’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Ferrari and Warner Bros. amusement parks, SeaWorld and a waterpark.

Disney and Miral, the Abu Dhabi developer overseeing the project, hope to capitalize on the 120 million airline passengers that travel through Abu Dhabi and Dubai each year.

Abu Dhabi also is home to the Louvre Abu Dhabi and there are more museums currently under construction.

The theme park announcement is being made ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump to the region next week. Trump has promised a series of business deals with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

The theme park will be built and operated by Miral, but Disney will handle the design and development. Disney will also license its intellectual property and provide development and management services, according to a regulatory filing.

The California company will not be providing any capital for the project. It will earn royalties based on the resort’s revenues. It will also earn service fees.

Miral has been involved in the development of almost all of the entertainment complexes built on the island.

A projected opening date has not been announced.

Shares of Disney, which also reported second-quarter financial results on Wednesday that beat Wall Street's expectations, jumped more than 9% in morning trading.

Most Viewed

 
Entertainment

Tom Cruise Is Finally Getting an Oscar as Will Dolly Parton, Debbie Allen and Wynn Thomas 

Tom Cruise appears at the premiere of "Top Gun: Maverick" at the 75th international film festival, Cannes, southern France on May 18, 2022. (AP) 
Tom Cruise appears at the premiere of "Top Gun: Maverick" at the 75th international film festival, Cannes, southern France on May 18, 2022. (AP) 
TT
20
TT

Tom Cruise Is Finally Getting an Oscar as Will Dolly Parton, Debbie Allen and Wynn Thomas 

Tom Cruise appears at the premiere of "Top Gun: Maverick" at the 75th international film festival, Cannes, southern France on May 18, 2022. (AP) 
Tom Cruise appears at the premiere of "Top Gun: Maverick" at the 75th international film festival, Cannes, southern France on May 18, 2022. (AP) 

Twenty-five years after Tom Cruise received his first Oscar nomination, he’s finally getting a trophy. It’s not for his death-defying stunts, either. At least, not exclusively.

Cruise, choreographer Debbie Allen and “Do The Right Thing” production designer Wynn Thomas have all been selected to receive honorary Oscar statuettes at the annual Governors Awards, the film academy said Tuesday. Dolly Parton will also be recognized with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her decades-long charitable work in literacy and education.

“This year’s Governors Awards will celebrate four legendary individuals whose extraordinary careers and commitment to our filmmaking community continue to leave a lasting impact,” Academy President Janet Yang said in a statement.

Most recipients of the prize historically have not yet won a competitive Oscar themselves. Cruise, 62, has been nominated four times, twice for best actor in “Born on the Fourth of July” and “Jerry Maguire,” once for supporting actor in “Magnolia” and once for best picture with “Top Gun: Maverick.” He’s also championed theatrical moviegoing and big-scale Hollywood production through the coronavirus pandemic.

Yang spotlighted Cruise’s “incredible commitment to our filmmaking community, to the theatrical experience, and to the stunts community.”

Allen, 75, has never been nominated for an Oscar. But the multi-hyphenate entertainer — she also acts and produces — has played an integral role in the Oscars show, having choreographed seven ceremonies over the years. Four of those were nominated for prime-time Emmy awards.

A nomination had also eluded Thomas, a leading production designer whose films have often gone on to best picture nominations and even one win, for Ron Howard’s “A Beautiful Mind.” Thomas is most known for his long-term collaboration with filmmaker Spike Lee, from “She’s Gotta Have It” and “Malcolm X” through “Da 5 Bloods.”

Parton has been nominated twice for best original song, for “9 to 5” and, in 2006, “Travelin’ Thru” from the film “Transamerica.” But her honor celebrates her humanitarian efforts over the years, through organizations like the Dollywood Foundation and the literary program “Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.”

Yang said Parton “exemplifies the spirit” of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

The awards will be handed out during an untelevised ceremony on Nov. 16 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles. Last year’s recipients included the late Quincy Jones, Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, filmmaker Richard Curtis and casting director Juliet Taylor.

Recipients of the prizes, which honor lifetime achievement, contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences and service to the academy are selected by the film academy’s board of governors.