Ten days after its release in Egyptian theaters, Amr Salama's film Sheikh Jackson is beating all others currently playing, having earned EGP four million (226,000 USD) in ticket sales, according to MAD Solutions, the company managing the film's marketing. The film is set on the day of Michael Jackson's death in 2009, and centres on an Egyptian sheikh who was dubbed "Jackson" by his friends during his schooldays. The story goes on to explore the emotions stirred by the pop star's death, sparking a series of existential questions within the sheikh. Sheikh Jackson was written and directed by Amr Salama and co-written by Omar Khaled. The film stars Ahmad El-Fishawy, Maged El-Kedwany, Ahmed Malek, along with guest stars Amina Khalil, Dorra Zarrouk, Basma, and Mahmoud El-Bezawy. The film was co-produced by The Producers, Film Clinic, and iProductions, with Daniel Ziskind as associate producer. Sheikh Jackson's world premiere came on the final day of the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada, which ran from 7 to 17 September. The film opened in Egypt at the first-ever El-Gouna Film Festival, which took place between 22 and 29 September. Following the Egyptian premiere, the film saw limited commercial release over the final week in September. It was then officially relased to all Egyptian Cinemas on 4 October. Sheikh Jackson has been nominated to represent Egypt in the foreign films category at the 2018 Oscars. The final nominations for the category will be announced on 23 January 2018 ahead of the 90th Academy Awards ceremony, which will take place on 4 March 2018. The film had its European premiere at the 61st BFI London Film Festival (4-15 October) in the "Journey" section, which selects films that transport viewers and shift their global perspectives. According to MAD Solutions, Cleopatra Entertainment has acquired the distribution rights to Sheikh Jackson in North America and plans to release it in theaters during the first quarter of 2018.
