Arabic Stories Travel the World on Netflix

The Sand Castle is the most-watched Arabic movie on Netflix in 2025 | Streaming in Short – W30

Jul 25, 2025

This week, we cover The Sand Castle becoming Netflix’s most-watched Arabic film of 2025, YouTube hitting $9.8B in ad revenue, and Netflix explaining how AI tools are helping creators make movies and shows better, not just cheaper.

🎥 The Sand Castle becomes Netflix’s top Arabic film of 2025 (so far)

👉 Netflix’s latest “What We Watched” report shows that The Sand Castle is the most-watched Arabic movie in the world on Netflix during the first half of 2025.

📍 The small-budget drama, produced by Front Row, Empire, Akward and HK Productions, has been watched for 17.4 million hours (10.8 million views) around the world. It ranks 223rd overall, far behind big Hollywood hits like Back in Action (164.7 million views), but it’s still a big moment for Arab cinema.

💡 The film follows a child dealing with loss and change, starring real-life siblings Zain and Riman Al Rafeea, with Nadine Labaki and Ziad Bakri. Its success shows that real and powerful stories from the Arab world can reach audiences everywhere.

💰 YouTube ad revenue hits $9.8B as Alphabet posts strong Q2

👉 Alphabet had a strong second quarter in 2025. It made $96.4B in revenue and $28.2B in profit, 19% more than last year. YouTube ads alone brought in $9.8B, higher than expected.

📍 In June, YouTube also led TV viewing in the US with 12.8% of total watch time. Netflix came second with 8.3%, and no other service reached 5%.

💡 CEO Sundar Pichai said AI is helping the company grow in search, cloud, and YouTube. Alphabet now plans to invest $85B this year to keep expanding.

🤖 Netflix: AI tools will make stories better, not just cheaper

What happened?

👉 Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos says AI is already helping people who make movies and shows. It makes the work faster and gives them more creative options, instead of just cutting costs.

Key details:

AI is used for planning shots and creating special effects.
Example: El Eternauta, an Argentine sci-fi series, used AI to make a building collapse on screen.
The scene was finished 10 times faster than with traditional methods.
It was all done with a local team and a smaller budget.
Sarandos says AI gives creators more time to focus on storytelling.

Why it matters?

🎯 Netflix sees AI as a way to help creators make bigger and better shows, all over the world, without replacing people.

📈 EARNINGS: Netflix beats forecasts, but now all eyes are on the rest of 2025

Netflix did well in Q2 2025. Its revenue grew 16% compared to last year, and it increased its goals for the full year. But the stock went down a bit because some investors expected even bigger results.

Experts say the next six months will be very important. Netflix has big shows coming, like Wednesday season 2, and the Stranger Things finale. They also expect the company’s ad-supported plan to bring in more money.

🏆 AWARDS: OSN+ celebrates HBO’s 140 Emmy nominations

OSN+, the exclusive home of HBO in MENA, is celebrating a record 140 Emmy nominations for HBO this year, their highest number ever. Top shows include The Penguin (24 nominations), The White Lotus season 3 (23) and The Last of Us season 2 (16).

This shows how HBO’s big series keep attracting viewers and why OSN+ is still the place to watch award-winning content in the region.

📚 PARTNERSHIP: 1001 adds educational content with Almentor

Iraqi streaming service 1001 is partnering with Almentor, an online learning platform, to offer Arabic-language educational courses. The first test will include short classes on topics like personal growth, business, and digital skills.

These courses will appear next to 1001’s movies, series, and sports, giving viewers in Iraq both entertainment and learning on the same platform.

🎤 K-CULTURE: CJ ENM opens Saudi Arabia office

Korean entertainment company CJ ENM has opened its first office in the Middle East, in Riyadh. The goal is to work more with the region in music, TV, film, live events, and big K-pop concerts.

With partners like Sela and Shahid, the company plans to create talent programs, produce local content, and bring more K-culture to MENA.

🍽️ ORIGINALS: OSN & Ti22 launch Ditch The Silver

OSN is working with UAE-based Ti22 Films on Ditch The Silver, a 10-part series coming in late 2025 to OSN and OSN+. The show, hosted by Arva Ahmed from Frying Pan Adventures, explores hidden food spots and bold flavors across the UAE.

The series started as a YouTube idea and is now moving to TV, focusing on real and local stories about the country’s food culture.

🇫🇷 CANNES: YouTube takes center stage at MIPCOM 2025

For the first time, YouTube will have a big presence at MIPCOM CANNES (October 13–16, 2025) for its 20th anniversary. Expect a YouTube Space, a keynote by VP Pedro Pina, and daily workshops.

This year’s theme is the creator economy, with new events like BrandStorytelling, a bigger Creative Hub, and Innovation Lab sessions on AI, FAST, CTV, and monetization.

🇦🇪 DUBAI: DICM 2025 adds ‘Spotlight Stories’ pitching challenge

DICM returns on November 4–5, 2025, at Madinat Jumeirah with a new live pitching event called “Spotlight Stories”, giving MENA creators a chance to present ideas to top producers.

The market will also feature panels, talks, and networking with 90+ exhibitors and 250+ buyers from more than 50 countries.

🌸 The Summer I Turned Pretty from Jenny Han and Gabrielle Stanton (Prime Video, Season 3, 11 episodes): Every summer, Belly and her family head to the Fishers’ beach house in Cousins. Every summer is the same ... until Belly turns sixteen. Relationships will be tested, painful truths will be revealed, and Belly will be forever changed. It’s a summer of first love, first heartbreak and growing up, it's the summer she turns pretty.

🖤 Wednesday from Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Netflix, Season 2, 8 episodes, August 6th): Wednesday Addams is sent to Nevermore Academy, a bizarre boarding school where she attempts to master her psychic powers, stop a monstrous killing spree of the town citizens, and solve the supernatural mystery that affected her family 25 years ago, all while navigating her new relationships.

⛓️‍💥 12 years ago, Orange Is the New Black premiered on Netflix. Created by Jenji Kohan, the groundbreaking dramedy followed Piper Chapman’s journey through a women’s prison and introduced audiences to a diverse cast of unforgettable characters. Mixing humor with raw social commentary, the series became one of Netflix’s first big hits and helped define the era of binge-watching.