Arabian Nights: Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

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***Arabian Nights: Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves*** is an American action-adventure film directed by Miguel Gomes in his English-language directorial debut. It is intended to be the first film in a trilogy of films based on some of the stories in *One Thousand and One Nights*. Gomes previously adapted the source material into a three-part drama film also titled *Arabian Nights*.

*Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves* was released theatrically in the United States on December 24, 2021, after being delayed five months from an original July 2021 release date. It received mostly negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb. By mid-January 2022, a sequel was being developed for a March 2025 release but was ultimately cancelled by the studio.

## Synopsis

*"Ali Baba is a poor woodcutter living with his wife in Persia when he overhears a group of forty thieves visiting their stolen treasure inside of a cave that reveals itself with the phrase "Open Sesame." Taking some of the treasure for himself, Ali Baba finds himself targeted by the thieves and is forced to team-up with a slave-girl to foil their plots."*

## Cast

* Fady Elsayed as Ali Baba
* Medalion Rahimi as Ali Baba's wife
* Ghassan Massoud as Old Man
* Marwan Kenzari as Kaseem Baba
* Yasmine Al Massri as Kaseem's wife
* Ashraf Barhom as The Lead Raider
* Ewan McGregor as British Raider

## Production

Raydon Entertainment first announced a film based on *One Thousand and One Nights* in 2017, citing the success of Miguel Gomes' 2015 Portuguese-language film and the interest in the then-upcoming live-action *Aladdin* film. The film was set to adapt the story of Aladdin before the focus was shifted towards Ali Baba in late 2017. The film was officially greenlit in October 2017 as *The Arabian Nights of Ali Baba* and was intended to jumpstart a cinematic franchise with a film based on Aladdin still being considered. In June 2018, Raydon Studios announced Gomes as director. Filming began in March 2019 in New Mexico and wrapped September 2019. Portions of the film were filmed on location at the Dasht-e Kavir desert in Iran.

## Release

*Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves* was released theatrically in the United States on December 24, 2021 with special engagement showings on Thursday. It expanded overseas on January 14, 2022. It was theatrically distributed worldwide by Raydon Studios Motion Pictures. The film was delayed five months from an original July 2021 release date.

## Reception

### Box office

In the United States and Canada, *Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves* was released alongside *A Journal for Jordan*, *American Underdog* and the wide expansion of *Licorice Pizza*, and was projected to gross around $5 million from 2,500 theaters over its first two days of release. It made $1.2 million on its first day and $1 million on its second, debuting to $2.2 million and finishing eighth at the box office. In its second weekend, the film finished ninth with $1.175 million.

## Cancelled sequel

*Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves* was expected to be the first installment of a trilogy of films and was to be followed by a sequel *Arabian Nights: Aladdin and the Magic Lamp* in March 2025 before its cancellation in October 2022.