Saudi filmmaker Abdulaziz Alshlahei’s film Hobal has achieved remarkable success at the Saudi box office. The film portrays the clash between traditional and modern values within a Saudi family in the early 1990s. It has outperformed major Hollywood films like Mufasa: The Lion King, Flight Risk, and Den of Thieves 2: Pantera.
The story is set during the 1990 Gulf War when a Saudi family is forced by their grandfather to live in isolation in the desert. When a young girl falls ill, her mother fights against patriarchy to save her child. This narrative has deeply resonated with Saudi audiences.
According to data from the Saudi Film Commission, Hobal has attracted over 500,000 viewers since its release on January 2 and has earned approximately $5.7 million to date. In contrast, Disney’s Mufasa has drawn 328,000 viewers and earned $4.4 million since its release on December 19, 2024.
The success of Hobal is being seen as a sign of the rapid growth of local films in Saudi Arabia. In December 2017, Saudi Arabia lifted a 35-year ban on cinemas, and since then, the film industry has been growing rapidly. The film premiered at the Red Sea Film Festival in December and has been gaining popularity ever since. According to the distributor, shows are running housefull even in rural areas, where audience engagement accounts for over 20% of total ticket sales.
After lifting the religious ban on cinemas, Saudi Arabia has become the largest film market in the Middle East and North Africa region. Audiences here are drawn not only to Hollywood blockbusters but also to an increasing number of local hits. The strength of local content is one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest advantages. As Comscore senior operations manager Nathan Gilligan recently stated, “Local films are really strong in Saudi Arabia. Their popularity is growing even in rural areas.”
Outside Saudi Arabia, Hobal has also performed well in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, attracting over 87,000 viewers in Kuwait, the UAE, Oman, and Bahrain.
Hobal was largely shot at the new Bajdah Studios near the futuristic city of NEOM and in the desert and mountainous landscapes along the Red Sea coast in Tabuk. This is Alshlahei’s third feature film, following his groundbreaking drama The Tambour of Retribution, which also received widespread acclaim. That film was released on Netflix and was Saudi Arabia’s submission for the 2022 Oscars in the Best International Feature Film category.
Hobal is produced by Shaf Studios, with Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzi’s Film Clinic and Peninsula Pictures Group as co-producers. The film received support from the Daw Film Competition, the Saudi Film Commission, the Quality of Life Program, and NEOM, with participation from various private sector partners.
