Netflix Reports Box Office Grosses for First Time Ever with 'La Bola Negra'
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October 18, 2026 10:12am PT
Box Office: ‘La Bola Negra’ Scores $277,500 From Four Theaters as Netflix Reports Grosses for First Time Ever
By Rebecca Rubin, Senior Film and Media Reporter
In a major shift in the theatrical tides, Netflix has reported box office grosses for the first time ever. The streamer’s awards hopeful “La Bola Negra” scored $277,500 from just four theaters, averaging $69,375 per location. These ticket sales are notable as the second-highest screen average ever for a non-English language film behind 2019’s “Parasite,” which opened to $393,216 from three theaters, averaging $131,072 per location.
Compared to other recent releases:
- Neon’s multilingual legal thriller “Fjord” debuted last weekend to $124,000 from four theaters, translating to $31,000 per location.
The test now is whether “La Bola Negra” can sustain momentum as Netflix slowly expands the movie’s footprint in the coming weeks. The streamer plans to keep the film in theaters for 45 days before its Netflix release on December 2. Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (known as Los Javis), “La Bola Negra” is a generation-spanning queer epic that intertwines the stories of three men.
Acclaimed at Cannes Film Festival with a 16-minute standing ovation and winning Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award, “La Bola Negra” tied for the Cannes best director prize.
Netflix has long faced skepticism from movie theaters, with co-CEO Ted Sarandos frequently dismissing them as an "outmoded idea." However, the company has started to soften its stance, releasing token movies in cinemas, such as “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story” and the “Kpop Demon Hunters” re-release, along with the “Stranger Things” series finale. Notably, Netflix has never disclosed box office figures for these releases before.