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As a second wave of Covid-19 escalates in Spain, Sony Pictures Releasing has moved up — not back — the local release of Santiago Segura’s family comedy “Father There is Only One 2,” the country’s biggest potential national blockbuster for 2020.

Originally scheduled to open in Spanish theaters on Aug. 7, the sequel to the biggest Spanish movie release of 2019 will now bow on July 29.

Sony Pictures Releasing is negotiating to screen in 300 or more theaters — the equivalent of 600 screens, an increase on the location spread of the original film — at a time when 40% of Spanish cinemas still remain closed. Some may reopen specifically to screen “Father 2.”

With no major Hollywood title hitting Spanish screens until “Mulan” on Aug. 21, if Disney is able to maintain that date, the success — or failure — of this bold counter-intuitive move on “Father 2” looks set to determine how the summer box office plays out in Europe’s fifth biggest movie market.

Madrid — Disney. An extraordinary Mouse House septet, all ranking in Spain’s Top 10, drove its 2019 box office to its biggest cinema theater ticket sales in the decade, according to Comscore figures released Thursday.

The last time movies in Spain scored more spectators was 2009, said David Rodríguez, general manager, Spain & Portugal, Comscore Movies.

In all, Spain’s B.O. gross for movies of any nationality came in at €624.1 million ($699.0 million), 7% up on 2018, and the best figure for Spain since 2011’s €630 million ($705.6 million). Admissions totaled 105.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 8%, and the best score since 2009, Comscore announced.

Disney’s “The Lion King” alone grossed €37.2 million ($41.7 million), the best result in Spain for any individual movie since 2014’s “Ocho apellidos vascos” (“Spanish Affair”), which earned €56.1 million ($62.8 million).

No. 3 at 2019’s box office was “Avengers: Endgame,” which made the best opening of any film last year with €10.4 million ($11.6 million) over April 26-29, accounting for...

Remake of Argentinian comedy overtakes Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Sony Pictures International Productions’ (Spip) comedy remake Father There Is Only One starring Santiago Segura has overtaken Spider-Man: Far From Home to become the studio’s biggest release of the year to date in Spain.

The film surpassed Spider-Man: Far From Home on €13.53m ($14.84m) to reach €13.57m ($15.08m) and ranks as Sony’s highest-grossing release in the territory since The Smurfs grossed €13.7m (unadjusted for inflation) in 2011.

Segura, who also wrote and directed Father There Is Only One (Padre No Hay Más Que Uno), plays Javier, an overwhelmed man left...

Sony’s claims 60% market share of box office for local films in Spain in year-to-date.

Sony Pictures International Productions’ (Spip) Spanish comedy Padre No Hay Más Que Uno (Father Is The Only One) has delivered the highest opening weekend by a local film in Spain so far this year.

The comedy remake earned an estimated $1.8m and boosts Sony Pictures Releasing International’s (Spri) box office in Spain for local titles to $26m and 60% market share.

Spri’s other local releases in the market this year include: Carlos Therón’s comedy I Can Quit Whenever I Want (Lo Dejo Cuando Quiera) on $12.8m,...

Exclusive: Argentinian sales outfit FilmSharks, which has plied a profitable trade in the increasingly popular market of local-language remakes, has closed deals on hit Spanish-language movies to companies in France, Italy, Mexico, China, Brazil and India.

FilmSharks has closed deals with French outfit Soyouz Films and Brazilian company Glaz Entertainment for rights to local-language versions of comedy Ten Days Without Mom (Mama Se Fue De Viaje), which scored big at the Argentine box office last year for Disney. Diego Peretti stars in Ariel Winograd’s movie about how a mother’s sudden and shocking departure for holiday sends her family into tailspin as the father takes over domestic duties.

Successful Chilean export No Filter (Una Mujer Sin Filtro) is being lined up for an Italian remake with Colorado Film while a Paraguayan version has been sold to Lemon Films. The Chilean box office success, which was picked up for U.

Local hit Ten Days Without Mom finishes above five Hollywood tentpoles

Ten Days Without Mom

The number of film-goers in Argentina who went to the cinema to watch a local release dropped 11% year-on-year in 2017.

According to latest information from data firm Ultracine, admissions for local films in Argentina fell from 6.89m in 2016 to 6.21m last year. Including international releases, the overall number of film-goers slipped 2.5% from 48.78m in 2016 to 47.59m in 2017.

When inflation is factored into the equation, the story is different. Box office in 2017 for all films released in Argentina generated 4.83bn pesos to climb 23% against the 3.93bn total in 2016.

Ultracine said last year’s box office for Argentine films produced 559.6m pesos compared to 493.9m in the previous year, marking a rise of 13%.

The average ticket price across all releases surged 26% to reach 101.48 pesos compared to 80.59 pesos in 2016, while the average cost of a ticket for an Argentine film climbed year-on-year by 28% from 71.62 pesos to 90.07 pesos...