MBC Studios sets 19 November Saudi release for Hana Alomair’s ‘Traveller’s Hell’

MBC Studios, the production arm of MBC Group, has set 19 November 2026 for the Saudi theatrical release of Traveller’s Hell, a psychological thriller based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Saudi author Osamah Almuslim, who also wrote the screenplay. The Riyadh-based studio said release dates for other Arab cities will be announced in the coming weeks, according to Deadline, BroadcastPro ME and Asharq, all on 5 October.

The film is the first feature from Saudi director Hana Alomair, who previously co-wrote and directed Whispers, one of Netflix’s early Saudi original series. It was shot entirely on location in Saudi Arabia. The cast includes Adwa Bader, Basil Alsole, Mohammed Ali, Shojaat Nashat and Aziz Gharbawi. BroadcastPro lists Mahfouz Al-Zahrani as producer and Sofian El Fani as director of photography, with production services from Aflam Production and distribution by Qanawat.

The film opens with a lone woman who stops for a stranded motorist on a remote mountain road at night. Deadline reports that the release is the first major result of a partnership between MBC and Almuslim, announced more than two years ago, to adapt several of his books for film and television.

Why it matters: this is a local book adapted by its own author, a female-led genre film that is a Saudi woman director’s feature debut, and a full local production-to-distribution chain. That makes it a test case for whether Saudi publishing IP can anchor a studio’s theatrical slate, and for the wider Arab rollout.

Sources: Deadline, 5 Oct 2026; BroadcastPro ME, 5 Oct 2026; Asharq (Arabic), 5 Oct 2026.

Watch next: dates for other Arab cities, the first weekend’s Saudi box office, and which other Almuslim titles MBC moves into production.