With only a few months left in 2026, the fall schedule marks the peak of award season. Award-buzzing movies like The Debut and Wild Horse Nine are set to release in the next two months, while the documentary You Can See Everything is already going viral and could make award history. As studios move forward with their considerations, Netflix is pushing the war epic La Bola Negra as its headliner. Since its Cannes premiere in May, the Spanish movie has become an award favorite, with an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Since then, La Bola Negra is slowly rolling out in theaters for general audiences as it begins its awards campaign. With over 100 ratings tabulated so far, Netflix's war epic earned a stellar 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, easily making it one of the year's best-rated movies with moviegoers. It's also Penélope Cruz's fifth-highest audience score of her career and the fourth-best starring Glenn Close.
Reviews of La Bola Negra are very positive, praising its stunning cinematography, production design across three timelines, and the emotional, deep queer story. Guitarricadelafuente's performance has been described as magnetic and grounded, while Cruz's cameo is a mesmerizing showstopper that many pundits believe puts her in strong contention for Best Supporting Actress.
Rearrange the movies into the correct US release order.
Despite a few issues with melodrama and pacing, critics and audiences consider La Bola Negra one of the year's best movies, and it has gained momentum as a Best Picture frontrunner. Spain selected the movie as its entry for Best International Feature Film. So far, it's already won multiple awards, including Best Director at Cannes and TIFF's People's Choice Award.
La Bola Negra has become one of the most critically acclaimed movies, drawing the attention of multiple distributors seeking the rights. Ultimately, Netflix won U.S. distribution in a deal worth around $4–5 million, with plans for a rare theatrical release and an awards push. The epic war movie set a Netflix record with the longest theatrical window at 47 days, beginning on October 16 in select theaters.
Although the streamer was once adamant about streaming exclusives, it has since softened that stance, with a select few movies getting special theatrical releases. In just four screens so far, La Bola Negra earned $277,500 domestically, and that total is expected to rise as the movie becomes more widely available in subsequent weeks. It's also the first time Netflix has publicly shared box office numbers.
This theatrical rollout will continue until its streaming release on December 2. Meanwhile, Netflix's war movie has already earned $26.5 million internationally, most of it from its home country, Spain.
Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, La Bola Negra draws on Federico García Lorca's unfinished play and Alberto Conejero's La piedra oscura, using three timelines, 1932, 1937, and 2017, to show the connection between three gay men. The remaining cast includes Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes, and Lola Dueñas.
As La Bola Negra plays in select theaters, it will be on Netflix on December 2.
Release Date
October 16, 2026
Runtime
155 minutes
Director
Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi
Writers
Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi, Alberto Conejero
Producers
Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo, Jorge Pezzi
Cast
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Guitarricadelafuente
Sebastian
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English (US) ·