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IMDbPro

A Hologram for the King

  • 2016
  • R
  • 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
46K
YOUR RATING
Tom Hanks in A Hologram for the King (2016)
Cultures collide when an American businessman (Tom Hanks) is sent to Saudi Arabia to close what he hopes will be the deal of a lifetime. Baffled by local customs and stymied by an opaque bureaucracy, he eventually finds his footing with the help of a wise-cracking taxi driver (Alexander Black) and a beautiful Saudi doctor (Sarita Choudhury).
Play trailer2:31
12 Videos
99+ Photos
ComedyDramaRomance

A failed American sales rep looks to recoup his losses by traveling to Saudi Arabia and selling his company's product to a wealthy monarch.A failed American sales rep looks to recoup his losses by traveling to Saudi Arabia and selling his company's product to a wealthy monarch.A failed American sales rep looks to recoup his losses by traveling to Saudi Arabia and selling his company's product to a wealthy monarch.

  • Director
    • Tom Tykwer
  • Writers
    • Dave Eggers
    • Tom Tykwer
  • Stars
    • Tom Hanks
    • Omar Elba
    • Sarita Choudhury
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.1/10
    46K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Tom Tykwer
    • Writers
      • Dave Eggers
      • Tom Tykwer
    • Stars
      • Tom Hanks
      • Omar Elba
      • Sarita Choudhury
    • 197User reviews
    • 173Critic reviews
    • 58Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 3 nominations

    Videos12

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:31
    Watch Official Trailer
    Our Majestys Dream
    Clip 1:15
    Watch Our Majestys Dream
    Happening Today
    Clip 0:56
    Watch Happening Today
    Hello
    Clip 0:52
    Watch Hello
    Who
    Clip 0:59
    Watch Who
    A Hologram For The King: Who?
    Clip 0:59
    Watch A Hologram For The King: Who?
    A Hologram For The King: Happening Today
    Clip 0:56
    Watch A Hologram For The King: Happening Today
    A Hologram For The King: Hello
    Clip 0:52
    Watch A Hologram For The King: Hello
    A Hologram For The King: Our Majesty's Dream
    Clip 1:15
    Watch A Hologram For The King: Our Majesty's Dream
    A Hologram for the King: Making of Featurette 2 (Spanish Subtitled)
    Featurette 2:31
    Watch A Hologram for the King: Making of Featurette 2 (Spanish Subtitled)
    A Hologram for the King: Making of Featurette 1 (Spanish Subtitled)
    Featurette 2:48
    Watch A Hologram for the King: Making of Featurette 1 (Spanish Subtitled)
    A Hologram for the King: Making of Featurette 3 (Spanish Subtitled)
    Featurette 2:47
    Watch A Hologram for the King: Making of Featurette 3 (Spanish Subtitled)

    Photos112

    Amy Heckerling at an event for A Hologram for the King (2016)
    Tom Hanks and Tom Tykwer at an event for A Hologram for the King (2016)
    A Hologram for the King (2016)
    Tom Hanks in A Hologram for the King (2016)
    Tom Hanks in A Hologram for the King (2016)
    Tom Hanks in A Hologram for the King (2016)
    Tom Hanks in A Hologram for the King (2016)
    Tom Hanks in A Hologram for the King (2016)
    A Hologram for the King (2016)
    A Hologram for the King (2016)
    A Hologram for the King (2016)
    Tom Hanks and Sarita Choudhury in A Hologram for the King (2016)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Tom Hanks
    Tom Hanks
    • Alan
    Omar Elba
    Omar Elba
    • Yousef
    • (as Alexander Black)
    Sarita Choudhury
    Sarita Choudhury
    • Zahra
    Ben Whishaw
    Ben Whishaw
    • Dave
    Sidse Babett Knudsen
    Sidse Babett Knudsen
    • Hanne
    Tracey Fairaway
    Tracey Fairaway
    • Kit
    Jane Perry
    Jane Perry
    • Ruby
    Tom Skerritt
    Tom Skerritt
    • Ron
    Michael Baral
    • Young Ron
    Lewis Rainer
    Lewis Rainer
    • Young Alan
    Alexander Molkenthin
    • Kid Alan
    Xara Eich
    • Young Kit
    David Menkin
    David Menkin
    • Brad
    Christy Meyer
    Christy Meyer
    • Cayley
    Megan Maczko
    Megan Maczko
    • Rachel
    Eric Meyers
    Eric Meyers
    • Eric Randall
    Khalid Laith
    Khalid Laith
    • Karim Al-Ahmad
    Amira El Sayed
    Amira El Sayed
    • Maha
    • Director
      • Tom Tykwer
    • Writers
      • Dave Eggers
      • Tom Tykwer
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Filmed mostly in Morocco. Only some exterior shots were taken in Riyadh.
    • Goofs
      The passport stamp shows 09-25-2010 as entry date, however the visa on the next page has an issuance date of 07/09/2014, so 4 years later. Also, the stamp doesn't have the right design.
    • Quotes

      Alan: [in an email] Dear Dr. Hakem. I hope this message finds you well. Your skill made quick work of that cyst. So I want to thank you again. I've been feeling increasingly energized since the operation and I've already been able to transfer that energy to others successfully. The only catch is now I don't have anything to blame my problems on. That little growth explained everything, and now it's gone. I am sincerely grateful, though, I think. Alan Clay.

      Zahra: [her response] Dear Mr. Clay, even though it went a little harder than I expected, it was a simple extraction. Usually the discovery that you're not dying of a malignant tumor leaves most people with their spirits high. But you are not most people, are you? Dr. Zahra Hakem.

      Alan: Dear Dr. Hakem, actually, my spirits are very high indeed, maybe too high. I'm feeling a little dizzy. The cause is mysterious. But I have felt a strange new lump in my back. I'm no doctor, but it feels like a rubber glove. Is there a chance you left one? Sometimes people leave things like gloves with someone they like in hopes their retrieval will provide an excuse to see that someone again. Yours, Alan.

      Zahra: Dear Alan, I actually might have left something. I'm thinking a sponge? Or maybe part of a snack I ate during the surgery. I think I need to see you again. Perhaps out of the hospital? We don't want to worry your insurers. Zahra.

    • Connections
      Featured in OWV Updates: Multimedia Update (21/05/2016) (2016)
    • Soundtracks
      Once In A Lifetime
      Performed by Talking Heads

      Sung by Tom Hanks

      (P) 1980 Sire Records Company

      Courtesy of Warner Music Group Germany Holding Gmbh. A Warner Music Group Company

      Words and Music by David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth, Jerry Harrison and Brian Eno

      (C) 1980 WB Music Corp. (ASCAP) and Index Music, Inc. (ASCAP), Universal Music MGB Limited

      Mit Freundlicher Genehmigung

      Courtesy of Neue Welt Musikverlag Gmbh & Co KG / A Warner Chappell Music Company & Musik-Edition Discoton Gmbh

    User reviews197

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    one where you wonder why it was made
    The name Tom Hanks is synonymous with big budget non-CGI films with good acting. "A Hologram for the King" from 2016 stars Hanks, has some beautiful scenery, but really no point that I could see. It was based on a successful novel, and I suppose someone thought it would make a good movie.

    Hanks is divorced businessman Alan Clay, who goes to Saudi Arabia to seal a deal - the company he works for wants to sell a holographic teleconferencing system for a new city being built in the desert, and he is to give a demonstration to the King. He's in a financial crunch; his daughter hasn't been able to attend college, though she doesn't mind delaying it.

    When he arrives in Saudi Arabia, he runs into delays - the King isn't in town, and no one knows when he's supposed to show up. Clay's team is housed in a tent with poor wi-fi and has to bring food from the hotel. He can't get any answers from anybody about anything.

    During the time he is there, he connects with his driver Yousef (Alexander Black) and also meets a female doctor (Sarita Choudhury), who treats a large cyst in his back.

    The rest of the time he drinks like a fish, almost becomes involved with a Danish contractor named Hanne (Sidse Babett Knudsen), and goes on a hunt for wolves disturbing a flock of sheep with Yousef.

    Finally, he does meet with his point person there, and his team has food, air conditioning, and wi-fi. But there is so little time spent on the reason he's there in the film, it doesn't matter to the viewer.

    I guess this was supposed to be a story of Americans doing business or being in another culture, but this culture isn't even correctly represented. His involvement with a married female doctor is impossible, as is her presence alone with him in his hotel room.

    The story has some holes, including that the Hanks character is staying in Jeddah, but is told that the person he wants to see isn't in town -

    he's in Jeddah. Hello?

    This is a script that forgot what it was about, whatever it was about. For some reason the book was well-received. Didn't make a good film, even if it did star Tom Hanks.
    helpful•8
    4
    • blanche-2
    • Jun 19, 2017

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 28, 2016 (Germany)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • France
      • Germany
      • Mexico
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official Site
    • Languages
      • English
      • Arabic
    • Also known as
      • Голограма для короля
    • Filming locations
      • Ouarzazate, Morocco
    • Production companies
      • X-Filme Creative Pool
      • 22h22
      • Fábrica de Cine
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $30,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $4,212,494
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $1,138,578
      • Apr 24, 2016
    • Gross worldwide
      • $9,169,507
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 38 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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