Curtain Up: ‘La Bola Negra’ Shines As Netflix Shares Grosses In Historic First — Specialty Box Office
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Netflix has begun reporting official box-office grosses, with Spanish drama *La Bola Negra* its first reported release. Its opening performance gives the streamer an early measure of audience interest as it tests a 45-day cinema window for selected films.
The film took $277,500 across four screens, averaging $69,400 per screen over three days after earning $108,300 on Friday and $84,600 on Saturday. It opened in New York and Los Angeles, with expansion planned before a wider release on 6 November; Netflix said it set several venue records and achieved the highest per-screen average for a Spanish film.
- Netflix has reported box-office grosses for the first time.
- *La Bola Negra* opened to $277,500 on four screens.
- The Spanish film averaged $69,400 per screen.
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Netflix is a streaming company that has also released some films in cinemas, usually for a limited time. Box-office grosses are the money earned from cinema ticket sales, and cinemas often report them as a measure of how a film is performing.
La Bola Negra is a Spanish-language drama, and its cinema release is part of a wider debate about how films reach audiences. Netflix’s decision to give selected films a longer cinema run could affect how cinemas, streaming services and filmmakers work together.
For viewers, cinema releases offer a chance to see a film on the big screen before it becomes available to stream. The approach also raises questions about how streaming companies value cinema audiences and how widely films in languages other than English can be shown.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Reporting grosses and giving selected films a 45-day cinema window could help Netflix reach audiences who value the communal experience of a cinema, while giving Spanish-language work greater visibility. The opening figures and venue records suggest the film drew strong interest in its limited release, and theatrical exposure may build anticipation for its later, wider release.
The case against
The figures come from only four cinemas, so they offer limited evidence that this approach can attract audiences at broader scale. A selective theatrical run may also serve mainly to promote a streaming release, while leaving questions about whether Netflix will support sustained cinema distribution or share comparable box-office data for other titles.
Full account
Netflix has published cinema grosses for a film for the first time, reporting that Spanish-language drama La Bola Negra took $277,500 over its opening weekend at four US theatres. The result amounts to an average of $69,375 per screen. The film opened at the Paris Theater and Angelika in New York, and AMC Century City and Burbank in Los Angeles.
The two reports place the opening among the strongest ever for a non-English-language release: both describe it as the second-highest per-screen average in that category and a record for a Spanish-language film. One report also cites venue records, saying the opening was the highest for a non-English-language film at three of the cinemas, excluding dubbed anime. The figures were supplied by Netflix; the reports frame their publication as a notable change for a company that has not previously disclosed grosses for its theatrical releases.
Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, known together as Los Javis, the film follows the connected lives of three gay men across different generations. It is based on an unfinished play by Federico García Lorca. The drama received the Cannes best director prize, according to the reports, and won the Toronto International Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award. Netflix has planned a 45-day cinema run, with expansion to further markets before a wider release. One account gives 6 November as the date for that wider rollout; the other says the film is due on Netflix on 2 December.
The opening was supported by a substantial campaign, including outdoor and social advertising, trailers, cinema displays and community events. An event in New York drew on Lorca’s cultural influence and was hosted by John Cameron Mitchell. Netflix also reported favourable audience exit-survey results: 96% rated the film Excellent or Very Good, while 87% said they would definitely recommend it. The figures suggest an encouraging start, though the reports note that its performance will be tested as it reaches more cinemas. Netflix has indicated it will report grosses for several forthcoming theatrical titles, including films by David Fincher and Greta Gerwig.
Where outlets differ
The reports use slightly different figures: one gives an opening total of $277,500 and a per-screen average of $69,375, while the other rounds these to $277.5k and $69.4k.
The first account stresses the campaign, audience survey, audience profile and individual cinema records. The second focuses more on Netflix’s historical reluctance to report cinema revenue, its broader relationship with theatres and the possible strategic reasons for the change.
The first report says the film will expand ahead of a wider theatrical break on 6 November. The second specifies a Netflix streaming release on 2 December and describes the 45-day cinema window as the company’s longest theatrical rollout to date.