A Hologram for the King (film)

A Hologram for the King
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Tom Tykwer
Produced by	Stefan Arndt Gary Goetzman Arcadiy Golubovich Tom Hanks Uwe Schott () Tim O'Hair
Screenplay by	Tom Tykwer
Based on	A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers
Starring	Tom Hanks Alexander Black Sarita Choudhury Sidse Babett Knudsen Ben Whishaw Tom Skerritt
Music by	Johnny Klimek () Tom Tykwer
Cinematography	Frank Griebe
Edited by	Alexander Berner
Production company	Playtone Primeridian Entertainment X-Filme Creative Pool () Fábrica de Cine
Distributed by	Lionsgate Roadside Attractions Saban Films
Release date	April 20, 2016 (2016-04-20) (Tribeca Film Festival) April 22, 2016 (2016-04-22) (United States)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United States Germany Mexico
Language	English
Budget	$30 million
Box office	$7.8 million

A Hologram for the King is a 2016 comedy-drama film directed, written and co-scored by Tom Tykwer, based on the 2012 novel of the same name written by Dave Eggers, and starring Tom Hanks as a washed-up corporate salesman, who goes to Saudi Arabia to propose a business deal.

Sidse Babett Knudsen, Tom Skerritt and Sarita Choudhury also star in this international co-production between the United States, Germany, and Mexico. The film was released on April 22, 2016, by Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions and Saban Films. It received positive reviews but was a box-office flop, becoming the lowest-grossing film to feature Tom Hanks in top billing since Every Time We Say Goodbye in 1986.

The film tells the story of a washed-up, desperate American salesman who travels to Saudi Arabia to sell a holographic teleconferencing system to the Saudi government. Set in 2010, before the Arab Spring, American consultant Alan Clay is depressed after losing his house and being divorced by his wife during the Great Recession; he arrives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to make a sale in an upcoming development called the King’s Metropolis of Economy and Trade (a fictionalized version of King Abdullah Economic City).

On June 12, 2013, Tom Tykwer was reported to be developing an adaptation of 2012 novel A Hologram for the King, written by Dave Eggers. Tykwer wrote and directed the film, which stars Tom Hanks as the lead. The film was made by Playtone, Primeridian Entertainment, and X-Filme Creative Pool. On September 5, 2013, Lotus Entertainment began licensing international rights to the film. On March 6, 2014 it was announced that Sarita Choudhury, Alexander Black, Tracey Fairaway, David Menkin, and Tom Skerritt had joined the cast of the film.