The streaming service released ticket sales for the Spanish drama after it averaged $69,375 per cinema in a four-theater debut.
Netflix reported box office grosses for the first time ever as its Spanish awards contender La Bola Negra opened to $277,500 across four theaters, Variety reported.
Record opening numbers
The drama scored an average of $69,375 per location, marking the second-highest screen average ever for a non-English language movie behind 2019’s Parasite, which opened to $393,216 across three cinemas for a $131,072 average. La Bola Negra also secured the highest per-screen average ever for a Spanish language film. For comparison, Neon’s Oscar contender Fjord debuted last weekend with $124,000 across four locations, averaging $31,000 per screen.
The figures arrived Sunday, according to Deadline, with the movie playing at the Paris Theater and Angelika in New York alongside AMC Century City and Burbank in Los Angeles. Friday brought $108,300 and Saturday added $84,600, leading to a $69,400 three-day average. Netflix stated the film set non-English opening records at the Angelika, The Paris, and AMC Century City, excluding dubbed anime. Exit surveys showed 96% of moviegoers rated it excellent or very good, with 80% calling it excellent and 87% giving a definite recommendation. Audiences were 66% male, with 51% under 35 and 25-to-34-year-olds representing the largest share at 39%. Rotten Tomatoes scored it 87% Certified Fresh.
Festival buzz and Lorca adaptation
Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, known as Los Javis, the film draws from an unfinished Federico García Lorca play. The R-rated, era-spanning queer epic follows the interconnected lives of three gay men. The cast includes musician Guitarricadelafuente in his acting debut, alongside Milo Quifes, Carlos González, Glenn Close, and Penélope Cruz. In September, the streamer released Guitarricadelafuente’s single from the film, titled ‘La Nieve.’
Spain picked the film as its Oscar submission for best international feature. The movie debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a 16-minute standing ovation and its directors shared the best director prize. Netflix then bought the drama for roughly $5 million. The film later won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, historically a strong sign for Academy Awards recognition.
Netflix backed the rollout with outdoor ads, trailers, theater standees, and community screenings. In New York, marketing included a poetry salon hosted by John Cameron Mitchell that mirrored Lorca’s secret 1930s gatherings before the premiere at NewFest.
A shift in streaming strategy
The disclosure marks a shift for Netflix, with theatrical distribution head Spencer Klein overseeing the box office reporting. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos previously dismissed movie theaters as an ‘outmoded idea.’ While the company ran limited theatrical releases for titles like 2022’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story, last year’s Kpop Demon Hunters re-release, and the Stranger Things finale, it didn’t share box office numbers.
Netflix previously treated cinema screenings as marketing stunts to bring subscribers to its service rather than as a financial plan. Box office numbers cannot be spun like streaming metrics, giving the studio standard metrics as it seeks its first best picture Oscar. The change comes during a difficult stretch for the company. Its stock has languished, leading to 1,000 layoffs last week and the replacement of chief content officer Bela Bajaria with Disney veteran Peter Rice.
What comes next for theatrical rollouts
Netflix plans to keep La Bola Negra in theaters for 45 days before streaming it on Dec. 2. That 45-day theatrical window is Netflix’s longest to date. Over the next few weeks, the movie will expand across New York and Los Angeles and enter other major cities before a wider release on Nov. 6.
Exhibitors are enjoying their biggest post-pandemic year, and Netflix plans to report ticket sales for more titles. Upcoming releases with box office reporting include David Fincher’s The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth around Thanksgiving, Peter Berg’s The Mosquito Bowl, and Danny Boyle’s Ink. In 2027, the streamer plans theatrical rollouts for Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew and Taika Waititi’s animated Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory.
