The Egyptian thriller Flight 404 starring Mona Zaki, has just been submitted for consideration at the 2025 Academy Awards. After winning big at the regional box office, the film has gotten an admirable rollout in both the US and Europe, and considering the positive critical response, one can only assume this will make a significant impact on the Academy’s decision.
Directed by Hani Khalifa, Flight 404 tells the story of Ghada (played by Zaki, who previously starred in the Arabic adaptation of the film Perfect Strangers) who is about to board a flight to participate in the Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to the holy site of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. But on her journey, she is suddenly confronted with an emergency that requires her to produce myriads of cash. Ghada is forced to reconnect with the corrupt people from her past of which she has desperately tried to rid herself in the pursuit of a better life.
Released at the start of the year, Flight 404 has scored over half a million admissions in the region, smashing Egyptian box office records for a female-led film. And according to distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment, the success in Egypt was followed by toppling the box office in Saudi Arabia for four consecutive weeks. Saudi is the MENA region’s highest film market, and Flight 404 has scored nearly 300,000 admissions, grossing AED 14.6 million.
“Flight 404 has worked tremendously well locally, but I always thought that in terms of story and execution, this is a film that deserved to find a niche audience in international markets, and also play for Arab-speaking expats who are deprived of the chance of watching Arabic language titles in cinemas and outside of a few select festivals,” noted producer Mohamed Hefzy. “I hope more of our films will get the same chance in the coming years.”
All eyes on Egypt.