India, May 7 -- In the age of shrinking borders in the movie business, film industries around the world are pushing the envelope with bigger, grander productions. Indian cinema is attempting to conquer the world, for instance, with Varanasi and Ramayana, the two most expensive Indian films ever made. Korean films are going bigger and grander in a similar vein, while China recently delivered its first billion-dollar blockbuster, Ne Zha 2. Recently, Saudi Arabia attempted the same, mounting a big film on a massive scale, featuring big Hollywood stars. But the end result was dismal as it all came crashing down at the box office, culminating in the biggest box-office bomb in history.

In November 2021, Saudi media conglomerate MBC Group's fil...