Spain’s Oscar entry ‘La Bola Negra’ hits $43M worldwide

The latest:

‘La Bola Negra’ has pulled $41M in Spain and $43.4M worldwide, according to Rentrak, making it the highest-grossing local film of the year in a market running 40% ahead of 2025. Directed, written and produced by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, Spain’s official Oscar entry topped the domestic chart again in its sixth weekend with $1.4M.

Details:

• The Spanish record: Rentrak reports the film has entered Spain’s all-time top 10 with 36.7M euros, ranking 10th on a list led by ‘Avatar’ at 77M euros. It is the third highest-grossing local title ever there, behind ‘Spanish Affair’ at 56.2M euros and J.A. Bayona’s ‘The Impossible’ at 42.5M euros.
• The admissions figure: Elastica and Rentrak put the film at 5.5M tickets sold in Spain to date, more than any other release this year. The young independent distributor, named to Deadline’s Disrupters list in 2022, now has the country’s biggest local hit of 2026 on its slate.
• The 2026 ranking: For the calendar year in Spain the film sits third overall, behind Sony and Marvel’s ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ at 40.4M euros, or $45.2M, and Universal’s ‘The Odyssey’ at 39.5M euros, or $44.2M. It beat the previous top Spanish title, ‘Torrente Presidente,’ at $31.6M.
• The latest weekend: The film held No. 1 in its sixth frame with $1.4M, ahead of the opening of South Korean sci-fi hit ‘Hope’ at $440K and the second weekend of Warner Bros and DC’s ‘Clayface’ at $402K, for a $1.4M cume. It opened Sept. 25 during Fiesta del Cine, when tickets were 3.50 euros.
• The U.S. release: Netflix bought U.S. rights for a reported $5M and platformed the film at four New York and Los Angeles theaters on Oct. 16 for $277,500. That produced a $69,300 opening theater average, the highest ever for a Spanish-language film stateside. Three weekends in at 38 locations, the North American cume is $1.2M.
• The awards run: Calvo and Ambrossi, known as Los Javis, won Best Director at Cannes. The film took TIFF’s People’s Choice Award, an Oscar bellwether, and landed a British Independent Film Award nomination for Best International Independent Film.
• The Gothams: The film receives a Vanguard Tribute at the upcoming Gotham Film Awards in New York. Los Javis are nominated for an audience award, and lead Guitarricadelafuente is up for Breakthrough Performer.
• The cast and story: The film follows three men across different eras, centered on three existences linked by sexuality, desire, pain and inheritance. It stars Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos Gonzalez, Milo Quifes, Lola Duenas, Penelope Cruz and Glenn Close.
• The wider market: Rentrak reports Spain is on course for its strongest box office year since 2019, with year-to-date grosses pacing 40% ahead of 2025 and admissions up 36%.

Background:

Elastica is an independent Spanish distributor that Deadline named to its Disrupters list in 2022. Netflix only recently began reporting theatrical grosses for its films in North America, which is why this platform rollout carries published numbers at all.

Between the lines:

The commercial case and the awards case reinforce each other here. A film carrying Cannes’ Best Director prize, TIFF’s People’s Choice Award and 5.5M admissions at home enters the Oscar international race with evidence of both critical and popular traction, the combination campaigns are usually built to manufacture. Netflix’s reported $5M U.S. buy looks cheap against a $69,300 opening theater average.

What’s next

The film opens in France on Dec. 16. The Gotham Film Awards in New York will hand out the Vanguard Tribute and decide the audience and Breakthrough Performer categories, ahead of Oscar international feature shortlisting.