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‘Padre no hay más que uno 4: Campanas de boda’ a la cabeza.

© mundoCine | Warner Bros | Vercine | Sony Pictures | Beta Fiction

Casi 24 horas para despedir el año, pero en mundoCine no podemos decir adiós sin antes hacer un repaso del top películas españolas más taquilleras de 2024, con datos extraídos del Icaa (Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales) y, acompañado, como ya viene siendo habitual por nuestra parte, de información muy útil sobre dónde podéis verlas en estos momentos.

Y es que, si en el top de las películas que más han recaudado a nivel mundial predominaban las sagas –secuelas, secuelas y más secuelas, con Wicked como la única excepción–, el del cine español que más ha triunfado en la cartelera de este año nos ha ofrecido, en cambio, una diversidad de lo más refrescante.

Eso sí, no faltan los habituales. Santiago Segura, una vez más, se...

Hit by last year’s Hollywood’s strikes, total box office in 2024 in Spain dipped 2% compared to 2023, breaking three consecutive years of recovery over 2021-23, Comscore Movies Spain announced Monday. At 71 million admissions, attendance edged down 5% compared to last year.

At €477 million ($496.1 million), total box office in Spain was 29% below a pre-covid 19 average over 2017-19, but still 21% up on a post-pandemic average over 2021-23 as Spain and box office at large around the world continues its halting rebound from 2020.

That said, some 2024 results in Spain were heartening.

While first half admissions were 13% down on same period last year, the second half regained momentum against the same period in 2023, auguring well for 2025, observed David Rodríguez, Comscore Movies general manager for Spain and Portugal.

“Inside Out 2” grossed a spectacular €45.5 million ($47.3 million), the second best result for any movie in Spain since “Spanish Affair” in 2014 (€56 million: $58 million), just bested by “Avatar: The Way of Water...

Happy Gilmore director Dennis Dugan is returning in front of the camera for the Adam Sandler-led Netflix sequel, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Dugan, who is an executive producer on Happy Gilmore 2, will reprise his role of pro golf tour commissioner Doug Thompson that he originated in the 1996 comedy. Kyle Newacheck is helming the new film that is currently in production and has not yet announced a release date.

Sandler is back as lead character Happy Gilmore, introduced in the original as an unsuccessful hockey player who becomes an unlikely golf sensation, due to his mammoth drives. Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen and Ben Stiller are among the returning faces from the first movie, while new additions to the cast include Benny Safdie, Bad Bunny, Margaret Qualley and Scott Mescudi, along with cameos from Travis Kelce and golfer John Daly.

Returning to produce the sequel are Sandler, Tim Herlihy,...

Una fantasía medieval con un reparto de caras conocidas. © Sony Pictures

Ha finalizado el rodaje de Sin cobertura, el segundo largometraje de Mar Olid, una fantasía medieval con un guion de Olatz Arroyo.

En Sin cobertura, Rita es la menor de la familia y está harta de que sus padres y hermanos siempre estén mirando el móvil y no le hagan caso. En un viaje al pueblo de su abuela para celebrar su cumpleaños, conoce a una pitonisa que le concede un deseo. Rita lo tiene claro: quiere que desaparezcan los móviles. A la salida del pueblo, una intensa niebla rodea el coche y se quedan sin cobertura. El deseo de Rita se ha hecho realidad, pero no exactamente como ella había imaginado… Acaban de viajar en el tiempo y están en la Edad Media.

La película está protagonizada por Alexandra Jiménez, y Ernesto Sevilla, quienes dan vida a los padres de esta familia,...

El remake de ‘El Cuervo’ y ‘Diabólica’ decepcionan en su debut. © Sony Pictures / Disney

El informe de la taquilla del fin de semana del 30 de agosto al 1 de septiembre no trae muchas novedades en el top 5. Según los datos provisionales de Comscore Spain, la comedia familiar Odio el verano se mantiene en el primer puesto con una recaudación estimada de 648.000 euros, lo que supone un moderado descenso del 18,5% respecto a su estreno el fin de semana anterior. Con estas cifras, la comedia de Fer García-Ruiz lleva recaudados un total de 2.3 millones de euros, situándose como la quinta película española más taquillera en lo que va de año, solo por detrás de Padre no hay más que uno 4, La familia Benetón, Menudas Piezas y Buffalo Kids.

En el segundo puesto, Romper el círculo, dirigida por Justin Baldoni, se mantiene estable con una recaudación aproximada de 531.000 euros, registrando un mínimo descenso del...

Sílvia Abril Leads SkyShowtime’s ‘Mamen Mayo’

Sílvia Abril (Padre no Hay Más que Uno) has been cast to lead SkyShowtime drama series Mamen Mayo. She will play the title character act opposite fellow leads Pablo Capuz (Merlí. Sapere Aude), Mona Martínez (La Novia Gitana) and Clara Sans (Cardo). Abril’s character is billed as an “extremely intelligent inheritance mediator, who is at the pinnacle of her career.” She leads a team of mediators who in each episode attempt to resolve the conflicts of interest within families entangled in inheritance disputes. Also cast are Oscar de la Fuente, Francisco Reyes, Javier Pereira, and Toni Acosta as Rebeca Mayo, Mamen’s sister. The eight-part, half-hour series comes from Nostromo Pictures in association with SkyShowtime. Eduard Sola is the creator, and serves as showrunner alongside Miguel Ángel Faura. Mamen Mayo is streamer SkyShowtime’s first original program out of Spain. SkyShowtime is...

El cine nacional brilla en la taquilla también con ‘Buffalo Kids’. © Disney / Sony Pictures

Según los datos provisionales de Comscore Spain, este fin de semana del 23 al 25 de agosto ha traído cambios significativos a la taquilla española, destacando especialmente el cine nacional con el estreno de Odio el Verano. Esta comedia familiar de Sony Pictures, dirigida por Fernando García-Ruiz, ha entrado directamente al primer puesto con una recaudación aproximada de 795.000 euros, y se posiciona así como el segundo mejor estreno español en lo que va de año, tan solo por detrás de la película familiar de Santiago Segura, Padre no hay más que uno 4.

No hay muchos cambios en los siguientes puestos del top 10 de la taquilla. Alien: Romulus, la nueva película de la icónica saga de ciencia ficción y terror, dirigida por Fede Álvarez, ha descendido al segundo lugar con una suma de 704.000 euros, lo que representa una caída del 41.3% en su recaudación.

Protagonizada por Elena Irureta, Kira Miró, Salva Reina y Sofía Otero. © DeAPlaneta

Ya se ha publicado el primer tráiler y póster de ¿Quién es quién?, la nueva película de Martín Cuervo con guion de Irene Niubó (Todos lo hacen) basada en la película francesa Le sens de la famille.

¿Quién es quién? sigue a la familia Fuentes, que se encuentra sumida en una rutina alienante debido al trabajo y los estudios. Sin embargo, todo cambia cuando Valentina, la más joven del grupo, pide un deseo en su noveno cumpleaños. Al día siguiente, todos los miembros de la familia se despiertan con los cuerpos intercambiados, lo que desata el caos en el hogar.

La comedia está protagonizada por Elena Irureta (Patria), Kira Miró (Machos alfa), Salva Reina, (Cuánto me queda), Sofía Otero (20.000 especies de abejas), Martí Cordero (42 segundos) y Ana Jara (Soy Luna). Completan el reparto: Gracia Olayo (Los protegidos), Aitor Luna...

El mercenario bocazas fija la vista en el billón. © Disney / Sony Pictures / Universal Pictures

Según los datos provisionales de Comscore Spain, este fin de semana del 26 al 28 de julio en España ha estado marcado por el espectacular estreno de Deadpool y Lobezno, de Disney, que ha dominado la taquilla con una recaudación de 4,4 millones de euros, habiéndose proyectado en 1005 pantallas de 371 cines.

Y es que, la película de Marvel, protagonizada por el icónico dúo Reynols-Jackman, no solo ha dominado la taquilla española sino que también ha conquistado el primer puesto en todos los países donde se ha estrenado. De esta forma, ha logrado la segunda mejor apertura en cines de este 2024 y, a nivel global, ya ha recaudado 438,3 millones de dólares, con un presupuesto de 200 millones de dólares. Esto la sitúa en el número seis de la taquilla mundial del año y es la primera película de superhéroes en colarse...

‘Deadpool y Lobezno’ promete atraer una gran afluencia de público a las salas de cine esta semana y agitar la taquilla.

Durante el fin de semana del 19 al 21 de junio en España, ha habido un estreno que ha destronado al fenómeno animado “Del Revés 2” – “Gru 4: Mi Villano Favorito”, y no, no ha sido el blockbuster veraniego “Twisters” sino “Padre no hay más que uno 4”, que, según los datos provisionales de Comscore Spain, ha logrado una recaudación de 2 millones de euros durante el fin de semana.

La nueva entrega de la popular saga familiar creada por Santiago Segura se ha convertido en el mejor estreno de una película española en los últimos 9 años, logrando además el mejor miércoles de apertura de la historia del cine español. Además, ha superado a sus predecesoras en la franquicia con notables subidas: un 226% respecto a “Padre no hay más que uno”, un 84% respecto...

Entre el reparto, Anabel Alonso, Edu Soto y Elisabet Casanovas. © Filmax

Ha terminado el rodaje de la comedia familiar “Campamento Garra de Oso”, que se ha extendido a lo largo de las siete últimas semanas en las provincias de Soria y Bizkaia. Un largometraje de ficción y aventuras con el que, a través de las peripecias de los jóvenes protagonistas y de Fritz, una mofeta parlante, los más pequeños aprenderán el valor del respeto a los animales y a la naturaleza, la importancia de colaborar con los compañeros, la imaginación, la autoestima y el poder de creer en uno mismo.

En “Campamento Garra de Oso”, Maia (de nueve años), una imaginativa y alborotada niña, y Jan (también de nueve años), un niño miedica de ciudad, lucharán a contrarreloj para salvar el campamento de verano amenazado por el excéntrico constructor Sebastián Sebastián. Para ello, buscarán sin descanso a un oso que...

Entre el reparto, Anabel Alonso, Edu Soto y Elisabet Casanovas. © Filmax

Comienza el rodaje de la comedia familiar “Campamento Garra de Oso”. Un largometraje de ficción y aventuras con el que, a través de las peripecias de los jóvenes protagonistas y de Fritz, una mofeta parlante, los más pequeños aprenderán el valor del respeto a los animales y a la naturaleza, la importancia de colaborar con los compañeros, la imaginación, la autoestima y el poder de creer en uno mismo.

En “Campamento Garra de Oso”, Maia (de nueve años), una imaginativa y alborotada niña, y Jan (también de nueve años), un niño miedica de ciudad, lucharán a contrarreloj para salvar el campamento de verano amenazado por el excéntrico constructor Sebastián Sebastián. Para ello, buscarán sin descanso a un oso que creen que aún vive en el valle pero que nadie ha visto. En esta intrépida aventura contarán con la ayuda de Fritz,...

Barcelona-based indie studio Filmax has nabbed international sales rights to Joaquín Mazón’s “The Night My Dad Saved Christmas,” starring Spain’s king of comedy Santiago Segura (”Father There Is Only One”) and Ernesto Sevilla (“I Can Quit Whenever I Want”).

A Spain-Mexico co-production, the film teams Spain’s tax incentive structure La Navidad en Sus Manos Aie with three of Spain’s most successful film production companies: Nadie Es Perfecto, Esto También Pasará Producciones and Bowfinger International Pictures.

The family comedy, scripted by Francisco Arnal and Daniel Monedero, is set in the days leading up to Christmas, when Santa – played by Segura – has an accident on his sleigh, right in the middle of Madrid, and ends up in hospital, where he will have to stay until after Christmas.

Fortunately, Salva, the guy he’s sharing a room with at the hospital, is willing to step in and take on his all important Christmas work.

Bowfinger Int’l Pictures, run by Spanish actor-director Santiago Segura and producing partner María Luisa Gutiérrez, and Beta Fiction Spain (Bfs), the Spanish affiliate of Germany’s Beta Film, have teamed up to produce “Infiltrada” (“Infiltrated”) the true story of a young Spanish policewoman who infiltrated the Basque separatist group, Eta.

To be directed by Bilbao-based helmer Arantxa Echevarría, the feature film based on true events follows the 20-year old policewoman, known only by her alias Aranzazu Berradre Marín, who managed to embed herself with members of the terrorist group, even sharing living quarters with them.

Eventually, she helped lead to the dismantling of the infamous organization that used terrorist tactics in its campaign for an independent Basque state.

Based on extensive research that included the collaboration of journalists and interviews with people who were directly involved in the operation, “Infiltrada” will depict not only the events but will also...

Exclusive: Sony Pictures International Productions (Spip) is set to remake Ariel Winograd’s Argentinian comedy Mama Se Fue De Viaje (Ten Days Without Mom) in Turkey and South Korea.

Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group’s local-language production arm has tapped FilmSharks’ subsidiary The Remake Co. for the rights, having previous remade the 2017 title in Spain.

The comedy follows Víctor and Vera Garbor, who have been married for 20 years with four children. Absorbed by his work Víctor largely ignores wife and kids until Vera, overwhelmed by domestic life, decides to take a vacation from her family. There the problems begin.

In Spain, the film was remade was Padre No Hay Más Que Uno (Father There is Only One) with Santiago Segura directing and has spawned two sequels. The original film took 15.8M, while the second grossed 15.3M and the third is set to release in theaters on July 15. Spip also...

In a further expansive move, London-based Protagonist Pictures is teaming with Madrid’s Mogambo, executive producers on “1917,” for a multi-year, multi-title strategic financing and production partnership.

Announced on the cusp of the Cannes Festival, the deal sees the two companies allying to finance, co-produce and sell up to five films a year, Protagonist CEO Dave Bishop and Cco George Hamilton, announced alongside Mogambo founders Ignacio Salazar-Simpson and Ricardo Marco Budé.

They added in a statement that the partnership will focus on jointly green-lighting prestige third party filmmaker-driven titles with budget ranges of 5 million-25 million, as well as strategic co-productions and development.

Negotiated by Mogambo’s legal director Carlos Segovia and Protagonist’s COO James Pugh, Hamilton and Head of Acquisitions Luane Gauer, the alliance is another building brick for both companies as they seek to leverage co-production to create bigger and more ambitious movie productions.

They can also bring...

Filmax has acquired the international rights to Spanish helmer Hector Claramunt’s escape room comedy, “You Lie You Die.”

The pic is based on Claramunt and Joel Joan’s hit stage play “Escape Room,” which has been seen by more than 200,000 people over the course of four seasons. Joen and Claramunt also penned the film’s script.

Described as a “madcap” laffer, “You Lie You Die” follows two couples whose plans to have a fun night out at an escape room go south. In order to find their way out of the suddenly unpredictable and crazy game, they will have to put their friendship to the test as they try to overcome dangerous and ingenious obstacles.

Combining laughs and thrills, “You Lie You Die” explores “how human beings act when tested to the limit, the trust that exists between couples and the balance between truth and lies,” Filmax stated.

“You...

Barcelona-based production-distribution outfit Filmax has picked up international rights to Spanish holiday comedy “Our (Perfect) Xmas Retreat” (“El refugio”) following the film’s successful domestic theatrical release. Premiering in Spain on Nov. 26, the film went up against firm opposition and came away as the weekend’s top domestic release.

Filmax is introducing the film to buyers at this year’s Ventana Sur.

Macarena Astorga directs the lighthearted story about a group of people who are trapped in a hotel after a massive blizzard. She also co-wrote the film’s script, alongside Beatriz Iznaola and Alicia Luna, a Spanish Academy Goya Award-winning writer for “Take My Eyes.”

Esto Tambien Pasara, producers of Astorga’s previous feature “The House of Snails,” produced the film with Santiago Segura’s Bowfinger International Pictures (“Father There Is Only One”) and Sygnatia (“Buñuel In The Labyrinth Of The Turtles”) from Spain, top Peruvian production company Tondero...

Former head of Sony’s local-language business reports to worldwide head of production and post Tim Clawson.

Amazon Studios has scored a coup and hired the former head of Sony’s local-language production business Laine Kline as head of production, local Originals.

Kline started last month and will oversee physical production of the streaming platform’s global slate of original local-language scripted series and film productions. He reports to Tim Clawson, worldwide head of production and post, Amazon Studios.

The hire is a significant one as Amazon Studios seeks to expand its international local-language production activity at a time when...

Michael Rifkin and Shebnem Askin take over the unit from Laine Kline.

Shebnem Askin and Michael Rifkin have been named co-heads of Sony Pictures International Productions (Spip), the local-language production arm of the motion picture group at Sony Pictures Entertainment (Spe).

Reporting to Spe film group president Sanford Panitch, Askin and Rifkin take over at Spip from Laine Kline, who was sole head of the division until he recently stepped down.

Askin has been with Spip since 2017 in a production and consultant capacity, working on projects including Italian comedy Perfect Strangers. She previously did stints with Pandora Cinéma in Paris and Fox International Channels.

Exclusive: International production veterans Shebnem Askin and Michael Rifkin have been appointed Co-Heads of Sony Pictures International Productions. Reporting to Sanford Panitch, President, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, the pair takes over from Laine Kline who stepped down earlier this year.

Spip is the local-language production arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group and is active in more than 13 markets around the world including France, the UK, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, India, Korea, China, Taiwan, Germany and Japan and is a market share leader in Spain and Russia.

Local-language pictures are an important aspect of the business, key to individual market box office and with the ability to make all boats rise. Some of Sony’s recent notable co-production releases include 2019’s Padre No Hay Mas Que Uno which grossed $15.9M in Spain to become the highest grossing Spanish film that year. The sequel, Padre No Hay Mas Que Uno 2,...

The director has finished filming his latest comedy, which is slated for release this year and which, much like his previous title, will surely prove to be a lifeline for Spanish cinema. As the film industry was bemoaning the havoc that the Covid-19 pandemic was wreaking on the box office, in summer 2020 Santiago Segura released Father There Is Only One 2, the sequel to 2019’s Father There Is Only One. The box-office result of this release was immense (it grossed more than €10 million), especially during the industry’s most disastrous period of the last few decades, and many media dubbed the Madrilenian director the “saviour of Spanish cinema” (see the news). Now, it seems that the indefatigable producer and actor has just wrapped shooting for his upcoming feature, ¡A todo tren! Destino Asturias, and...

The feature debut by Macarena Astorga, now in post-production, is a psychological thriller with a cast rounded off by Pedro Casablanc, Elvira Mínguez, Jesús Carroza and Fernando Tejero. Shot last August (once the state of emergency had been lifted in Spain), The House of Snails, the feature debut by Andalusian director Macarena Astorga, is a psychological thriller starring Javier Rey (seen recently in Secret Origins and El verano que vivimos) and Paz Vega, flanked by young Luna Fulgencio (Father There Is Only One) and a fresh face, Ava Salazar (the lead actress’s daughter). The cast is topped off by Peruvian thesps Carlos Alcántara and Norma Martínez, and Spaniards Pedro Casablanc, Elvira Mínguez, Vicente Vergara, Fernando Tejero and Jesús Carroza. The film, based on the novel of the same name, boasts a screenplay by the book’s author,...

Box office in Spain crashed 72% in 2020 to a total €169.7 million ($207 million), with Covid-19 wiping over half a billion dollars from box office sales this year, Comscore announced Tuesday.

By way of comparison, 2019 total box office in Spain stood at €605 million ($738 million). Spanish cinema admissions similarly plunged from 105 million tickets sold last year, a recent-year record, to 28.2 million in 2020.

In line with analysts’ expectations for not only Spain but much of Europe, admissions were the lowest since records began in 1965, and plunged despite cinema theaters remaining open in most of Spain since late June, save for Catalonia and Andalusia, in contrast to Europe’s other biggest markets.

Yet even in such dire circumstances, there were blue sky moments. The highest-grossing movie of the year opened in Spain, for example, after Covid-19 had hit Madrid harder than any other city in Europe.

Released July 29 by Sony in a high-stakes gamble as second-wave...

The 2019 Spanish hit from popular filmmaker Santiago Segura is now available on VOD, and it's a hilarious family comedy in the vein of Mr. Mom (1983). Padre No Hay MÁS Que Uno stars Santiago Segura as a husband and father of five who encourages his wife to take a vacation away from the family. He assures her he can handle the children along with his 9 to 5. When he gets in over his head, hilarity ensues.

Barcelona-based Filmax has scored international sales rights for upcoming psychological thriller “The House of Snails,” the debut fiction feature of two-time Malaga Film Festival Biznaga de Plata Award-winner Macarena Astorga, shot using the strictest of health and safety protocols just after Spain began to allow post-lockdown production in July.

“The House of Snails” turns on fictional Spanish writer Antonio Prieto, who secludes himself in the mountains outside of Malaga in southern Spain to work on his next book. While there, he falls in lust with local Berta, and meets several other unique characters that find their way onto the pages of his manuscript. After a bit of digging, Antonio realizes the oddities of the rural community are only the façade of a darker mystery, which forces the author to question the lines between reality and fiction.

A trans-Atlantic co-production between Spain, Mexico and Peru, “The House of Snails” features an...

Five Madrid-based companies, led by leading Spanish production house Tornasol Films, producer of Oscar-winner “The Secret in Their Eyes,” are teaming to launch services consortium Centro Navarro para la Producción Cinematográfica in Navarre, Northern Spain.

Based out of the Sarrio industrial park in Berrioplano, a town near Pamplona, Cnpc will provide production services, develop R&d projects and launch industry training programs in a region of Spain that is consolidating as a film-tv hub bulwarked by tax incentives.

Since 2015, Navarre offers a competitive 35% tax credit for Spanish shoots and co-productions.

“The Cnpc aims to complete the value chain of a film’s production,” said Miguel Iturralde, manager of Cnpc, which officially starts operations in October.

“Navarre is in vogue thanks to its tax incentives, although in order to be eligible for them, production must meet a series of requirements. The main one and the most complicated: Making 40% of production spend in the region,...

John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki star.

August 31 Update: After nearly six months without a wide new Hollywood release due the the pandemic, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet launched on more than 20,000 screens in 41 territories including Canada, grossing a confirmed $53.6m over the weekend.

Warner Bros Pictures International

Updated: Playing in cinemas with capacity restrictions, Tenet led the way in the UK on $7m (£5.3m) from 3,116 screens for 74% market share.

Next was France on $6.8m (€5.7m) from 1,070 for 68% share, followed by South Korea on $5.1m (Won 6bn) on 2,228 for close to 80% share, and Germany on $4.5m (€3.8m) from 1,955 for nearly 60% market share.

Sunday Update: Blessedly, another busy weekend at the international box office as new titles and eventized reissues hit overseas markets that have resumed operations. The biggest numbers are from China, where Warner Bros’ 4K 3D restoration of Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone drew muggles to the tune of an estimated $13.6M on 16,000 screens over the three-day frame (including $2.1M from 594 IMAX screens). The 19-year-old movie set a new single-day gross record in the post-covid era on Saturday and is now just a little over $2M from becoming only the second movie in the franchise to hit $1B worldwide.

China’s overall three-day weekend was a 65% increase on the last session with about $26.7M. It also helped that capacity restrictions were eased to 50% and that Friday included strong previews of controversial local war pic The Eight Hundred which continues sneaks during the next week before officially launching on August 21.

Sony...

‘Unhinged’ topped the box office in six countries, including new markets Russia and Austria.

South Korean box office rose 68% at the weekend, thanks to the arrival of strong local title Deliver Us From Evil, directed by Hong Won-Chan (2015’s Office).

Cj Entertainment’s action thriller grossed a handy $10.6m for the August 7-9 period, and $15m since its August 5 opening date. Admissions were 1.39m for the weekend period, and just over 2.03m since Wednesday – 78% of the total market. The film reunites Hwang Jung-min and Lee Jung-jae who appeared together in 2013’s New World.

Deliver Us From Evil’s numbers are...

Comedy sequel sees Spanish audiences defy Covid with biggest opening of 2020.

Russell Crowe road-rage thriller Unhinged released in 19 international markets last Friday, proving a notable draw in Australia, where the film opened with AUD798,000 from 214 cinemas in four days for distributor Studiocanal, achieving 39% market share.

That’s a big step up from the previous weekend’s top title in the territory, which was The King Of Staten Island with $207,000. Currently, 73% of Australia’s cinemas are open, but with reduced capacities and showtimes.

Unhinged was number one in 11 international markets: Australia, UK, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden, Ukraine, West Indies,...

Santiago Segura’s Father There Is Only One sequel is a major new opener in Spain.

South Korea, opening Wednesday July 29

In South Korea, where theatrical releases open on Wednesdays and Thursdays, the new films in cinemas this weekend with top ticket reservation rates, according to the Korean Film Council (Kofic), are led by Lotte Cultureworks’ Jung Woo-sung-starrer Steel Rain 2: Summit - director Yang Woo-suk’s sequel to his North-South Korea political action thriller.

The film opened Wednesday, July 29 and as of Thursday has clocked up $1.2m atop the box office chart.

Further new titles include Chinese shark...

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.

Less than a month after re-opening on June 26, Barcelona’s cinema theaters have been forced to close once more as part of a stay-at-home rollback by the Generalitat, the government for the Catalan region.

Announced on Friday, July 18, and in place from Saturday, the mandated shutdown is fiercely contested by Barcelona area town halls, adding to a nationwide debate about just how safe it is to go to the cinema.

In radical contrast to Barcelona’s theater shutdown, King Felipe VI of Spain and Queen Letitia were caught on Twitter on Saturday evening attending a movie at a multiplex in Madrid in a gesture of support for Spain’s beleaguered movie distribution and exhibition sectors.

Barcelona police were also obliged on Saturday to shut down a large area of the city’s beaches after sunbathers continued to enjoy fierce summer sun, many without masks or social distancing, despite the Catalan...

Sebastián Schindel wrote and directed story of mother desperate to save accused son.

Netflix has picked up worldwide rights from FilmSharks to Argentinian thriller Crímenes de Familia starring double Goya winner Cecilia Roth.

Sebastián Schindel, whose previous drama The Son is a Netflix Original, wrote and directed the film about Alicia, a woman who will go to any lengths to protect her son Daniel after he is charged with the attempted murder of his ex-wife.

Roth stars as Alicia and her credits include Pedro Almodovar’s All About My Mother, Natalia Meta’s 2020 Berlinale selection and Argentinian thriller The Intruder.

Nearly 20 years after its stunning 2001 debut, Alejandro Amenabar’s horror classic “The Others” is set to have a Spanish-language TV series spin-off.

Miami-based Btf Media has snagged the series format rights from FilmSharks subsidiary the Remake Co. and Enrique Cerezo’s Video Mercury Films.

In the original, WWII is coming to an end and a mother, played by Nicole Kidman, is anxious to protect her photosensitive children in a gloomy, isolated mansion while she waits for her husband to return from battle in France. The arrival of three enigmatic servants reveals some unexpected and chilling secrets.

The gothic film grossed more than $200 million worldwide, garnering a clutch of nominations and awards, including a Golden Globe actress nomination for Kidman and several Goya awards, including best film.

Btf founders Ricardo Coeto and Francisco Cordero will produce the series while FilmSharks’ Guido Rud and Cerezo executive produce.

“We are honored to bring...

Paris and Los Angeles-based Federation Entertainment has acquired the TV format and remake rights to Alejandro Amenábar’s debut feature, “Thesis.” It’s a prime example of the value of key older movie titles from standout younger foreign-language auteurs.

Producer of “The Bureau,” “Marseille,” “Bad Banks” and “Hostages,” Federation Entertainment will produce a drama series based on the film along with Raphaël Rocher at Empreinte Digitale, a company with a strong line in genre and sci-fi which produced “Missions,” a TV Critics Award winner at the 2017 MipDrama Screenings.

Federation Entertainment’s Lionel Uzan is understood to have clinched the remake rights in a competitive bidding situation from Guido Rud’s FilmSharks-owned the Remake Co. and Enrique Cerezo’s Video Mercury.

The move opens up a whole new front for rights-holders to exploit the commercial and artistic value of past movies. Further movie-to-series deals in the Spanish-speaking world look set to...

Filming for the sequel to the biggest Spanish box-office hit of 2019 resumes today, with the Madrilenian filmmaker again assuming the roles of star, producer, screenwriter and director. Santiago Segura has been able to take it fairly easy while partaking in the recent film awards ceremonies – the Forqués as well as the Goyas – because at the beginning of January, he took a three-week break from shooting his new feature, Padre no hay más que uno 2, which he had only just started filming and which is due to go on general release on 17 July 2020. It is the sequel to the biggest Spanish box-office smash of last year, Padre no hay más que uno, which grossed more than €14 million. And as was the case for the first chapter, the star of the Torrente saga is again directing, producing and starring in the film, accompanied by his...

It’s become a Bavarian rite of summer. With Germany and the rest of continental Europe swooning through the dog days of August, local audiences flock to the cinema to catch the latest capers of detective Franz Eberhofer, the star of a crime comedy franchise based on a series of best-selling novels. As temperature soar, so do ticket sales for what’s become one of Germany’s most sure-fire box office hits.

But don’t expect to catch “Leberkäsjunkie” (The Meatloaf Addict) anytime soon at a theater near you. The fifth installment in the Eberhofer franchise has hardly traveled beyond Bavaria, even as it’s become Germany’s second highest-grossing domestic film of 2019 ($10 million). “It’s a huge social event in parts of Bavaria,” says Martin Moszkowicz, executive chairman of Constantin Film, which distributes the film. “It’s a real phenomenon.”

That phenomenon is part of a broader trend across Europe,...

Jon Shestack (Air Force One) to produce action thriller.

Action specialist Pierre Morel has been hired to direct thriller The Blacksmith, which Agc Studios will finance and introduce to buyers at the Afm next month.

Agc Studios head Stuart Ford and Air Force One producer Jon Shestack announced the project on Thursday (10), and have earmarked a 2020 production start.

Ben Ripley adapted the screenplay from the graphic novel by Malik Evans and Richard Sparkman. Shestack will produce with Jason Netter (Wanted), and Jeremy Stein, with Ford serving as executive producer alongside Samantha Shear and Bob Sobhani.

The Blacksmith follows a go-to...

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...

Dionysos lead singer Mathias Malzieu makes live-action feature directorial debut.

Sony Pictures International Productions (Spip), riding high after the weekend box office success of local-language comedy Padre No Hay Más Que Uno in Spain, has come on board to co-produce the French adventure romance A Mermaid In Paris (Une Sirène À Paris) with Kinology, Overdrive Productions and Entre Chien et Loup.

Mathias Malzieu, lead singer of French pop band Dionysos, will make his live-action feature directorial debut on the project, based on his novel from publishing house Albin Michel that sold more than 100,000 copies in France.

Malzieu and Stéphane Landowski co-wrote the screenplay,...

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,...

The Lion King surges to within whisker of $1.2bn worldwide for Disney.

Universal’s action tentpole and Fast franchise spin-off Hobbs & Shaw starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham roared into life at the weekend, earning a confirmed $179m worldwide in the studio’s fifth highest global debut of all time.

Disney’s The Lion King added $110.2m worldwide to push the running total to $1.196bn, and Sony Pictures International Productions’ Spanish comedy Padre No Hay Más Que Uno (Father There is Only One) debuted on $1.8m for the biggest opening this year for a local film in Spain.

Universal Pictures...

The Lion King surges to within whisker of $1.2bn worldwide for Disney.

Universal’s action tentpole and Fast franchise spin-off Hobbs & Shaw starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham roared into life at the weekend, earning an estimated $180.8m worldwide in the studio’s fifth highest global debut of all time.

Disney’s The Lion King added $110.2m worldwide to push the running total to $1.196bn, and Sony Pictures International Productions’ Spanish comedy Padre No Hay Más Que Uno (Father There is Only One) debuted on $1.8m for the biggest opening this year for a local film in Spain.

Universal Pictures...

Sony’s Spanish comedy Padre No Hay Más Que Uno delivers biggest opening this year by local film in Spain on $1.8m.

Universal’s action tentpole and Fast franchise spin-off Hobbs & Shaw roared into life at the weekend, earning an estimated $180.8m worldwide.

Disney’s The Lion King added $110.2m worldwide to push the running total to $1.196bn, and Sony Pictures International Productions’ Spanish comedy Padre No Hay Más Que Uno (Father There is Only One) debuted on $1.8m for the biggest opening this year for a local film in Spain.

Universal Pictures International

Hobbs & Shaw stars Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham,...