Spanish Cinema Embraces Opportunity with Co-Production
16.02.2024 - 13:35
/ variety.com
John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent A new film industry superclass is emerging in Spain: movies powered or co-backed by its streaming giants. Perhaps the biggest example, Netflix Spain’s Andes flight disaster “Society of the Snow,” scored two Academy Award nominations last month. Now, in the run-up to Berlin, London-based Film Constellation has acquired most world sales rights to “The Captive,” from Oscar winner Alejandro Amenábar (“The Sea Inside”) and Mod Producciones, a $15 million period adventure epic on the literary makings of “Quixote”author Miguel de Cervantes, held to ransom in a Moorish corsair jail.
Film Factory Ent. will take to market Iciar Bollain’s “I Am Nevenka,” about a feminist pioneer in Spain, and an untitled project from “Prison 77’s” Alberto Rodriguez, two fruit of the first movie slate from Movistar Plus+, the biggest Spanish pay TV/SVOD player, announced in January. Spanish movies overperform on Netflix and Movistar Plus+.
As of Feb. 4, Spain had four of the top five most-viewed titles – “Nowhere,” “The Platform,” “Society of the Snow,” “Through My Window” – on the U.S. streaming colossus’ chart of its most-viewed non-English-language films ever.
“The writing is so similar to America, the U.K. The pace, certainly the quality, the storytelling is quite similar,” observes Roy Ashton, a Gersh Agency partner. “Spain’s abeautiful country, its weather fantastic, the crews are there and tax breaks almost no equal,” he adds.
Yet Spain is also exposed to macro market pressures. At 74.9 million tickets sold, admissions rose 26% last year, 24% down on pre-COVID cinemagoing, according to Comscore Movies Spain. That’s one of the slowest recovery rates in Europe’s big five markets .