KARACHI: Pakistan Oscar entry Hanging by a Wire has made history on streaming, becoming the first Pakistani film to top the movie chart on Paramount Plus in North America. The Urdu- and Pashto-language documentary reached the number one spot on 28 and 29 October, and the achievement has given Pakistani cinema a rare moment in the global spotlight. For a small documentary about a rescue in a remote valley, reaching the top of a major platform chart is a remarkable result.
The Hanging by a Wire Paramount chart number one debut came on October 28 and 29, when the film climbed to the top of the platform’s North American movie chart. It is the first Pakistani film to top the streaming platform’s chart in the region, and the news was reported in Pakistan on 5 November. The chart position matters because it shows that viewers in North America chose to watch a Pakistani documentary over the big studio films that usually fill the top spots, and that is not something that happens often.
The Battagram cable car rescue 2023 documentary tells the story of the dramatic rescue of eight passengers trapped in a cable car above a ravine in Battagram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In August 2023, the cable car broke down high above a deep valley, leaving eight people, including schoolchildren, hanging in the air for hours while rescuers worked to bring them down safely. The story gripped the whole country at the time, and the film brings that long day back to life with the people who lived through it.
Mohammed Ali Naqvi Hanging by a Wire director is the filmmaker behind the project, and he wrote, directed and produced the film, with Bilal Sami as co-writer and co-producer. Naqvi is an experienced documentary maker, and he followed the rescue story from the valley to the screen, building the film around the passengers, their families and the rescuers. The film premiered in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, which is one of the most respected festivals for independent film in the world.
The Pakistan Oscar Best International Feature Film category is where the film now stands as the country’s official submission for the 99th Academy Awards. It is the first documentary Pakistan has chosen as its entry in that category, which is usually filled by feature films, and that choice alone says something about how highly the film is regarded at home. The Oscars are the biggest film awards in the world, and a nomination would put Pakistani cinema on a stage it has rarely reached.
The film’s journey from a mountain valley to a streaming chart shows how a local story can travel when it is told well. The rescue itself was a national event, with television channels carrying live pictures of the cable car hanging over the ravine, and the whole country waiting to hear whether the passengers would be saved. The documentary takes that shared memory and turns it into a film that viewers in other countries can understand, even if they have never heard of Battagram or its cable cars.
The Hanging by a Wire Pakistan release early 2027 date is yet to be announced, so audiences at home will have to wait a little longer to see the film on the big screen. The film is set for release in Pakistan in early 2027, with exact dates still to be confirmed, and the makers are expected to announce the cinema plans once the awards season work is done. For now, the film is reaching viewers through streaming in North America, where its chart success has already made it a talking point.
The chart success also matters for the wider Pakistani film industry, which has struggled for years with small budgets, few cinemas and limited reach abroad. A documentary that tops a major platform chart shows that Pakistani stories can find an audience overseas, and it may encourage more filmmakers to tell local stories with confidence. The film’s Sundance premiere, its Oscar entry and now its chart position together make a strong case for the industry.
Readers should keep one point in mind about this story. A chart position on one platform in one region is a real achievement, but it is not the same as a cinema release or an Oscar nomination, and the film still has a long way to go in the awards race. For now, though, the makers can enjoy a rare first: a Pakistani documentary, in Urdu and Pashto, sitting at number one on a major streaming chart in North America.
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