One in an occasional series exploring the state of Hollywood films in global markets.

There seems to be a malaise in the European box office for 2019, carrying over from 2018’s 4% dip, and Spain is no exception. An uptick in the second half of the year bailed out receipts to an extent, perhaps because of the absence of World Cup games and the Fiesta del Cine (a biannual event where audiences can buy discounted cinema tickets). Totals now stand at $539 million compared to 2018’s $673 million (down 2% from the previous year), but the year isn’t over yet.

Action franchises and family films are traditionally the most successful genres, but the lack of screens is a big factor in the disinterest of the Spaniards. Movie admissions have been falling, with 3.9 percent of the population (mostly young people) frequenting the cinema, down from a high of 11.2 percent in 2001. Exhibition chains seem to have woken up belatedly and are investing in upgrading old cinemas and investing in new ones, so at least exhibitors are optimistic.

Hollywood films are paramount in Spain, as with every major movie territory across the world, and the top ten for the week of November 22-24 were all US films with the exception of one, led by Frozen 2 that made almost $6 million in its first week of release. Compare that to local icon Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory, which took in $6 million for its entire run of 37 weeks. No surprise that other Disney titles led the year’s list with Avengers: Endgame which took in $32 million, Aladdin with $24 million, Dumbo with $16 million and Toy Story 4 with $14 million.

In 2018, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was the leader on the charts earning $28 million, probably because Spanish director J.A. Bayona was at its helm and its world premiere was in Madrid. Bohemian Rhapsody was second.

As with Bayona who also made The Impossible with Naomi Watts and Ewan MacGregor, the brain drain continues with other gifted Spanish directors making careers in Hollywood directing English-language films. Alejandro Amenabar made The Others in 2001 with Nicole Kidman, Agora with Rachel Weisz in 2009 and Regression with Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson in 2015. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo made 28 Weeks Later with Jeremy Renner and Idris Elba in 2007 and Intruders in 2011 with Clive Owen. And there’s Rodrigo Cortes who made Buried with Ryan Reynolds in 2010 and Red Lights with Robert De Niro and Sigourney Weaver in 2012.

But the Spanish market is still considered to have potential and several US movie studios have co-production deals in the country, entering in earlier stages of local projects and taking multiple distribution territories. From Variety: “Warner Bros. co-produced Palm Trees in the Snow with Atresmedia Cine and Nostromo Pictures in 2015, and continued their participation in Alberto Rodriguez’s Smoke and Mirrors, Nacho Garcia Velilla’s Villaviciosa de al lado and Oriol Paulo’s The Invisible Guest. Sony is co-producing Agustin Diaz Yanes’ conquistador epic Oro with Atresmedia Cine and Enrique Lopez Lavigne’s Apache Films, plus Maria Ripoll’s romcom Don’t Blame Karma for Being a Jerk with Zeta Cinema.” The films are all in Spanish and have not been universalized for audiences outside Spain.

The Spain Film Commission offers generous tax incentives for productions shooting locally – rebates of up to 20%, with 40% in the Canary Islands and 35% in Navarre if the production company spends a million euros in the country and employs a percentage of local staff. The Others (2001), The Machinist (2004), Kingdom of Heaven (2004), Basic Instinct 2 (2006), Goya’s Ghosts (2006), The Impossible (2012) are all examples of Spanish co-productions.

Interestingly, the Russian-set Doctor Zhivago was shot in Spain as the novel the film was based on was banned in the Soviet Union. Lawrence of Arabia, set in the Arabian Peninsula, was also shot in Spain, with Almeria and the Tabernas Desert standing in for the Arabian one. So was A Fistful of Dollars, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Tomorrowland and 1963’s Cleopatra which bankrupted 20^th Century Fox with its cost overruns and made Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s romance worldwide news. The Bourne Ultimatum, Mission Impossible II, Fast and Furious 6, Night and Day also used locations in Spain.

The biggest revolution has been in the TV landscape, especially as streaming services launched, with Spain becoming an international production center. But there may be a new wrinkle with an upcoming EU law, the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AMSD) that may require streaming platforms to carry 30% Spanish/European content. (So far Netflix Spain only has 16%.) The platforms might be required to invest in local productions as well if the law goes through.

Money Heist (La Casa de Papel), produced in Spain, has been Netflix’s biggest international hit to date winning an international Emmy. It made an international star out of Jaime Lorente who was promptly cast in Amazon’s El Cid. Amazon has six projects in production including the second season of its Emmy-winning soccer show Six Dreams. HBO España is producing Isabel Coixet’s Foodie Love and will produce four more shows this year. New platforms from Disney, Apple and NBCUniversal will soon enter the fray. But as usual, it was Netflix that led the way, producing local originals in 2016. Now it has 14 series and four films in production. It opened a new production office in Madrid in April 2019 unveiled by CEO Reed Hastings and hopes to double hiring to 25,000 personnel from 13,000 in 2018. A big part of this increase in production is that Spanish professionals are attractive to hire by US companies as they are paid relatively low salaries but are highly qualified.

One last note. After Amazon ended his five-picture deal, Woody Allen announced in February 2019 that he would make his next film in Spain, co-produced with the Spanish company Mediapro (which also co-produced his Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Midnight in Paris). He presented some details at the San Sebastian Film Festival in July which also serves as the film’s backdrop. Its working title is Rifkin’s Festival and stars Christoph Waltz, Gina Gershon, Wallace Shawn, and Elena Anaya, all of whom were present with the exception of Waltz. Production is complete and the film will be released in 2020, though probably not in the US.