Netflix Officially Breaks Tradition With New War Movie’s Box Office Debut

Netflix has begun formally reporting box-office figures for its theatrical releases, marking a change in its approach as it prepares for more cinema titles. Its new Second World War sports drama, *The Mosquito Bowl*, opened to a modest audience, while the comparison with a Spanish-language film showed that a much smaller release could earn a similar sum.

Directed by Peter Berg and starring Bill Skarsgård among its ensemble, *The Mosquito Bowl* took $455,000 in about 350 cinemas, averaging roughly $1,300 per venue. *La Bola Negra* earned $418,000 from 38 cinemas and passed $1 million domestically; *The Mosquito Bowl* has a 39% critics’ score and a 92% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and is due on Netflix on 25 November. The film follows college football players who join the US Marines after Pearl Harbor and later play a game on Guadalcanal.