Netflix Officially Breaks With Tradition After Historic Box Office Debut
The Spanish-language drama *La Bola Negra* earned $277,500 during its opening weekend in four theatres, prompting Netflix to report a box-office total publicly for the first time. The move marks a break with the streaming company’s usual practice and reflects the film’s strong limited release ahead of its wider launch.
The film averaged $69,375 per theatre, the second-highest screen average for a non-English-language film, behind *Parasite*. Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, it follows three men whose lives are connected across 1932, 1937 and 2017; Penélope Cruz is among its cast, and the film drew praise after premiering at Cannes.
- *La Bola Negra* made $277,500 in four theatres.
- Netflix reported a box-office gross for the first time.
- Its per-theatre average ranks second among non-English-language films.