La Bola Negra: Los Javis and Netflix's Oscar Bet

Netflix is trying something new with a Spanish-language film. La Bola Negra, directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, the pair known as Los Javis, opened in New York and Los Angeles theaters on Oct. 16 for a planned 47-day run, and trade outlets now describe it as the streamer's best shot yet at a Best Picture Oscar. Here is what the film is, how it got here and what is still unproven.

What the film is

La Bola Negra follows gay men in Spain across three timelines, according to Variety. In 1932, a young man named Carlos is blackballed, which gives the film its title, from a social club because of his sexuality. In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, a soldier and the prisoner he guards fall in love. In 2017, a historian tries to work out how the two earlier stories connect, with a brief cameo from Glenn Close as an academic who helps him.

The soldier is played by the singer Guitarricadelafuente, in his first major acting role, and the prisoner by Miguel Bernardeau. Bernardeau's character, Rafael Rodríguez Rapún, was a real person, an actor and activist who had been the partner of the poet Federico García Lorca before Lorca was killed in 1936. Penélope Cruz plays Nené Romero, a cupletista, a bawdy Spanish cabaret singer, in a scene Variety calls the heart of the movie. Pedro Almodóvar is one of the producers. The directors shot on 35mm, and the film cost about $17 million, IndieWire reports.

How it got here

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where Variety says it drew a 20-minute standing ovation and shared the best director prize. Netflix bought it, and in September it won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Variety notes it was the first non-English-language winner of that award since 2011.

IndieWire's Anne Thompson says the Oct. 16 release marks a pivot for Netflix. It is the first time the company will fully report box office numbers and support a traditional platform release, starting in four theaters, expanding to between six and 10, then to about 30 in the third week. The film is expected to play in more than 75 markets by Nov. 6 and reach Netflix on Dec. 2. Thompson ties the shift to the mood after Netflix lost its bid for Warner Bros., a claim we have not independently checked.

The Oscar math

Thompson calls La Bola Negra the frontrunner for Best International Feature as Spain's Oscar entry. She also sees chances in Best Picture, director, adapted screenplay, score, song and both supporting acting categories, and says it could land nine or 10 nominations. The main obstacle in the top category, in her view and in Variety's, is Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.

Gold Derby's rankings, published Oct. 9, place La Bola Negra second for Best Picture behind The Odyssey. They put Guitarricadelafuente sixth for Best Supporting Actor at 44.4 percent. Under the Academy's new rules, which allow two nominations for one performer in a category, Variety and IndieWire both note that Cruz could be nominated for this film and for The Invite. All of this is forecasting, not results. Nominations come later in the season, and the international shortlist of 15 comes Dec. 15, per IndieWire.

The conversation around it

Variety's profile frames the film as a milestone for queer storytelling in a crowded awards season, with several openly gay actors playing gay characters in the race. Calvo says he hopes the film pushes further than earlier Oscar-circuit love stories in how directly it depicts gay desire. The directors also speak about handling the shoot with care for first-time actor Guitarricadelafuente, and about the cast living and filming in an old hospital in the northern Spanish town of Comillas.

The directors are well known in Spain as judges on the reality series Drag Race España and as creators of the series Veneno, which aired in the United States on HBO Max in 2020, Variety reports.

Why it matters in New York

New Yorkers get an early look. The film's theatrical debut is in the city, and the limited rollout means the first weeks will be decided by word of mouth and by how many screens add it. For readers weighing whether to see it on a big screen rather than wait for the Netflix date, the directors say they made it for theaters.

What we could not confirm

We have not seen the film and rely on Variety, IndieWire and Gold Derby for plot and awards context. IndieWire's statement that the movie is breaking box office records in Spain is the outlet's claim and we could not verify it. Theater counts and market totals are plans as reported, not final figures. Awards odds change weekly.

FAQ

When can I see La Bola Negra?

It opened in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Oct. 16 and is planned to reach Netflix on Dec. 2, according to IndieWire.

Who directed it?

Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, known together as Los Javis.

Is it an Oscar favorite?

IndieWire calls it the frontrunner for Best International Feature. For Best Picture, both IndieWire and Variety see The Odyssey as the main rival.

Sources

*Cover photo: Kevin Payravi, Wikimedia Commons, *[*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Javier_Calvo_and_Javier_Ambrossi_at_the_2026_Cannes_Film_Festival_winners_press_conference_01.jpg*](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Javier_Calvo_and_Javier_Ambrossi_at_the_2026_Cannes_Film_Festival_winners_press_conference_01.jpg)* (CC BY-SA 4.0).*