Netflix discloses box office grosses for first time with La Bola Negra
The Spanish-language festival favourite took $277,500 across four screens in New York and Los Angeles ahead of a planned rollout to 300 cinemas and a December streaming debut.
In a historic first for the streaming platform, Netflix has publicly reported box office grosses for the domestic debut of queer drama La Bola Negra, collecting $277,500 across four cinemas in Los Angeles and New York.
The specialty release delivered a per-screen average of roughly $69,375, ranking as the second-highest average ever recorded for a non-English language title. Produced on a reported budget of between $15m and $17m, the U.S. rights were acquired by Netflix at Cannes for a reported $5m. The feature, which previously debuted in Spain in late September, gathered six audience awards across the festival circuit and will represent Spain in the Academy Awards race.
Netflix intends to expand theatrical distribution across up to 300 locations nationwide over the coming weeks before making the film available to global streaming subscribers on Dec. 2.
The rare box office disclosure lands during an unsettled period for the streamer, which recently dismissed roughly 1,000 workers—about 6% of its workforce—in the largest round of job cuts in corporate history. The restructuring saw chief content officer Bela Bajaria exit the business to be succeeded by former Disney executive Peter Rice, as sliding share prices amplify investor demands for stronger viewer engagement and higher-performing titles.
Source: latimes.com
