Netflix Reports Box Office for First Time; 'La Bola Negra' Earns $277,500

By Daniel Okafor

Netflix has reported theatrical grosses for the first time in its history. The occasion: "La Bola Negra," which earned $277,500 from four theaters, averaging $69,375 per location.

That per-screen average is the second-highest ever for a non-English language film, behind only "Parasite," which opened in 2019 to $393,216 from three theaters at $131,072 per location. "La Bola Negra" also now holds the highest PSA — the standard yardstick for arthouse openings — for any Spanish-language film. For context, Neon's legal thriller "Fjord," another Oscar contender, debuted last weekend to $124,000 from four theaters, or $31,000 per location.

Not bad for a company whose co-CEO once called movie theaters an "outmoded idea."

What changes with box office reporting?

Plenty, potentially. Netflix has treated multiplexes as marketing, not money — token Oscar-qualifying runs and little else, and never a disclosed gross. The company stayed silent on revenues for 2022's "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story," last year's "Kpop Demon Hunters" re-release, and the "Stranger Things" series finale.

Box office dollars behave differently from streaming metrics. As the trade reporting notes, streaming numbers "can be twisted and touted in any which way," while box office is "uniformly reported — meaning there's no denying a hit (or a miss)." Netflix has never won best picture. Verifiable grosses would give its awards campaigns something critics can't dismiss.

The shift also lands at an awkward moment. Netflix's stock has been languishing, and last week the company laid off 1,000 employees and replaced chief content officer Bela Bajaria with Disney veteran Peter Rice. A fresh scoreboard costs nothing.

Who made 'La Bola Negra'?

Directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, the Spanish pair known as Los Javis, made a generation-spanning queer epic following three interconnected men. Cannes audiences gave it a 16-minute standing ovation, and the film tied for the Cannes best director prize. It then won Toronto Film Festival's People Choice Award, historically a reliable predictor of Oscar attention. Netflix acquired it for around $5 million.

What comes next?

Netflix plans a slow expansion and will keep the film in theaters for 45 days — its longest theatrical rollout to date — before the streaming release on Dec. 2. The test is sustaining momentum beyond the opening weekend.

More disclosures are coming. Netflix plans to report grosses for David Fincher's "The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth" around Thanksgiving, plus Greta Gerwig's "Narnia: The Magician's Nephew" and Taika Waititi's animated "Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory" in 2027.

Whatever those titles earn, exhibitors already count this as a win: the industry is enjoying its biggest post-COVID year at the box office, and Netflix just started paying for the lights.