Ramadan 2027 starts in February. Work backwards from it.
Ramadan is expected to begin around 8 February 2027 and Eid Al Fitr in the second week of March. Both dates move with the moon sighting, but not by enough to change when the work has to be shot.
Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin around 8 February, with Eid Al Fitr falling in the second week of March. The dates are confirmed only once the crescent is sighted, so treat them as planning markers. A day either way changes nothing. Starting in January changes everything.
Every year we take the same call in the second week of January from a brand that wants a Ramadan film. By then the good crews are booked, permits are queued and the only lever left is budget. This is the timeline that avoids that call.
When is Ramadan 2027 in the UAE?
Astronomical calculations put the start at 8 February 2027, with Eid Al Fitr expected around 9 or 10 March and Eid Al Adha in the middle of May. The UAE authorities confirm each date after the moon sighting, so the plan has to tolerate a day of movement. Campaign assets should be finished and delivered before the end of January, because audiences start looking for offers, menus and plans in the weeks before Ramadan rather than on day one.
Working backwards from 8 February
A single-location brand film takes three to four weeks from brief to delivery, and that is before anyone argues about the script. Multi-location work with talent and Arabic versioning runs longer. Laid against the February start, the calendar looks like this.
- 1October to mid-November 2026Strategy, concept, scripts, media planApprovals take longer than production does
- 2Mid-November to early DecemberCasting, locations, permits, wardrobe, call sheetsDFTC filming approval can take from a few days to two weeks and sits on the critical path
- 3Early to mid-DecemberThe shoot, briefed for the whole campaignCrews and locations are still available, and prices are normal
- 4Mid-December to mid-JanuaryEdit, grade, sound, Arabic versions, cutdownsLeaves room for two rounds of client changes
- 5Mid to late JanuaryTeaser and pre-Ramadan offers liveDemand builds before the month starts
- 68 February onwardCampaign runs, social posts against the calendarDaily rhythm of iftar, suhoor and family timing
- 7Early MarchEid Al Fitr creativeCut from the December shoot, not a second production
One shoot, not three
The expensive part of a film is getting crew, talent and location into the same place on the same day. Once that is paid for, another set-up costs a fraction of the first. A Ramadan brief that is scoped properly produces the teaser, the hero film, the social cutdowns and the Eid wrap from one block in December. Scoped badly, it produces one film in January and a panic in March. The arithmetic behind that is the same one we set out in shooting twelve months of content in three days.
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Tell us what you publish and where. We reply within one working day with a scoped plan.
What a Ramadan campaign usually needs
- 01A hero film.Sixty seconds or less for most brands, built around one idea, not a list of offers
- 02Cutdowns.Thirty, fifteen and six seconds for paid media, planned at script stage so the coverage exists
- 03Vertical versions.Stories and reels in 9:16, composed for the frame, not cropped down to it
- 04Arabic.Subtitles at minimum, and a voice version where the audience expects one
- 05Daily social.Timing posts, greetings, menu and offer frames that run off a template system
- 06An Eid wrap.Shot alongside the Ramadan material while the set is still standing
What late planning costs you
Rush rates are the visible part. The rest is quieter. In January the crews, talent and locations worth having are already committed, permits sit behind everyone else’s applications, and the schedule gives you one shoot day where the script wanted two. You end up filming what is available instead of what you wrote, and the campaign carries that compromise for a month in front of your largest audience of the year.
If you are planning now
October and November are the right weeks for this. Send an outline of what you are launching, who it is for and any fixed dates, and we will come back with a scope and a shoot window. We produce the film, the stills and the social set from one production block, and run the month itself through marketing and content.
Need content that keeps coming?
Tell us what you publish and where. We reply within one working day with a scoped plan.
Ramadan planning questions: dates, lead times and cutdowns.
When is Ramadan 2027 in the UAE?
Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin around 8 February, with Eid Al Fitr around 9 or 10 March and Eid Al Adha in the middle of May. All three depend on the crescent being sighted, so the UAE authorities confirm them only days ahead. For planning purposes the February start is firm enough to schedule production against.
When should Ramadan campaign production start?
Concepts and scripts in October and November, pre-production and permits through late November, and the shoot in early to mid-December. That leaves the edit, Arabic versions and cutdowns to run through January so the campaign is live before Ramadan begins, which is when audiences start looking for offers.
Can we still produce something if we start in January?
Usually yes, but on worse terms. Crews, talent and locations are committed by then, filming permits can take up to two weeks behind everyone else in the queue, and the schedule tends to compress two shoot days into one. Expect rush rates and a smaller set of options rather than a cheaper, simpler film.
Do we need separate creative for Eid?
You need separate cuts, not a separate production. Eid messaging lands differently from the Ramadan month, so plan the wardrobe, the set and the coverage for both and shoot them in the same block. A second shoot in March pays the full cost of crew and location again for a few seconds of finished film.
