Netflix Reports Box Office for First Time with 'La Bola Negra' — SkimNews
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- Netflix is making a decisive pivot to embrace theatrical runs for Oscar contenders, a shift triggered after co-CEO Ted Sarandos examined Warner Bros.' books during the failed merger and saw the revenue case for cinemas.
- "La Bola Negra," the $17-million Cannes Best Director-winning period epic by Los Javis (Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvó), opens in NY and LA on October 16 — the first title where Netflix will fully report box office and back a platform-style rollout starting at 4 theaters, expanding to 30 by week three and 75+ markets by November 6, before streaming December 2.
- "La Bola Negra" is the International Feature frontrunner with potential nominations in Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Score, Song, Supporting Actor and Actress, and craft categories — possibly 9 or 10 nods — and Penélope Cruz could double up under new rules allowing two nominations in one category for "The Invite" and "La Bola Negra."
- "Possible Love," Korea's Oscar entry directed by Lee Chang-dong and starring Jeon Do-yeon, won the Venice Silver Bear and is in the running for International, Picture, and Best Actress.
- "The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth," directed by David Fincher from a Quentin Tarantino script and starring Brad Pitt, gets an IMAX-exclusive two-week run starting November 25, 2026, ahead of its December 23 streaming debut.
- Netflix has lost Best Picture nine times since 2019, including "The Irishman," "The Power of the Dog," "Emilia Pérez" (derailed by scandal), and last year's "Train Dreams" and "Frankenstein," both beaten by Warner Bros.' "One Battle After Another."
- Christopher Nolan's $250-million epic "The Odyssey" is the current Best Picture frontrunner that "La Bola Negra" will need to overcome for the mainstream vote.
Why it matters: After nearly a decade of Hollywood treating Netflix as the enemy of theaters — culminating in Steven Spielberg's behind-the-scenes push for Universal's 'Green Book' over 'Roma' in 2019 — Sarandos is now spending Netflix money on theatrical windows to court Academy voters, filmmakers, and theatrical revenue. If 'La Bola Negra' delivers, it resets Netflix's Oscar calculus and signals that the industry's biggest streaming holdout has finally conceded that some movies need cinemas to break through.
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