“La Bola Negra” has become the third-highest-grossing Spanish film of all time at the domestic box office, an unlikely feat for a three-hour queer period drama. The film, directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who are known in Spain as Los Javis, had taken about €36.7 million ($42 million) by Nov. 1, according to Rentrak. That total pushes it past “Ocho apellidos catalanes,” which had held third place since 2015. Only “Ocho apellidos vascos” and “Lo imposible” now stand ahead.
Distributor Elastica says the film has sold roughly 5.5 million tickets in six weeks, making it the most-attended release in Spain this year. It has held the No. 1 spot nationally for most of that time. In revenue, it still trails Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man,” whose ticket prices and screen counts give them an edge. The film opened Sept. 25 to about €4.7 million, a record-setting start for a Spanish drama. It reached €25 million after three weeks. It then overtook “Torrente presidente” as the year’s top Spanish title.
Its path to the box office started abroad. The directors shared the best director prize at Cannes in May, and a bidding war followed that ended with Netflix acquiring the film. The streamer granted it a 46-day exclusive theatrical window, the longest it has offered. Audiences at San Sebastián gave it their top award, and Spain’s film academy selected it as the country’s entry for the international feature Oscar.
The $15 million production follows three gay men across the early 20th century, the Spanish Civil War and the present. It draws on Federico García Lorca’s unfinished novel and Alberto Conejero’s play “La piedra oscura.” Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close co-star, and Pedro Almodóvar is a producer.
Success has carried beyond Spain. A debut on five U.S. screens produced the best per-screen average of its weekend. France follows on Dec. 16. Industry analysts note that Spanish box office has surged 40% this year, driven by a handful of local hits. Calvo and Ambrossi, former actors who built their reputation in theater and television, now face expectations of an awards run. An Academy nomination would extend a theatrical life that shows no sign of slowing.
