Spanish cinema continued its upward trajectory for a third consecutive year, drawing 74.9 million viewers and marking a 26% rise from 2022. The year saw a strong domestic performance with top releases such as Campeonex and Barbie shaping the box office landscape, while foreign titles also contributed to the overall growth.
Provisional data released by the analytics firm Comscore on December 29 indicates a narrowing gap between the pre pandemic period and recent results. The year ended with a notable reduction in the difference between 2015 and 2019 averages, moving 16 points closer to the pre crisis benchmark, signaling a rebound in cinema attendance and earnings by the close of fiscal year 2023.
The year’s standout opening was Barbie, which premiered on July 21 and grossed 5.1 million euros during its debut weekend. That frame also set the best weekend total of the year, with 11.8 million euros in box office receipts from July 21 to 23.
July proved particularly busy for cinemas, boosting weekly attendance to 3.8 million viewers from Friday the 21st to Thursday the 27th. This week marked the highest cinema attendance in a seven day span since 2019, underscoring a lively summer slate and strong audience engagement.
The summer season benefited from the synergy of the Barbenheimer phenomenon, a pairing of Barbie and Oppenheimer. This cultural moment helped propel cinema to its second best grossing year in the last decade and contributed to one of the strongest audience performances in recent memory.
Among the cities, Madrid led with the largest share of viewers at 20.2%, followed by Barcelona at 13.7%, Valencia at 6.5%, Alicante at 4.3%, Malaga at 3.9%, Seville at 3.7%, Murcia at 3.4%, Cadiz at 2.8%, the Balearic Islands at 2.6%, and Vizcaya at 2.5%.
The film Campeonex, directed by Javier Fesser, topped the national cinema rankings for the year. It was followed by Eight Moroccan Surnames and Summer Holidays, reflecting a strong domestic production slate. The Spanish cinema market closed 2023 with a roughly 17% market share.
Overall, Barbie stood as the year’s highest grossing film, followed closely by titles like Super Mario Bros. and The Movie as well as Avatar: The Sense of Water. For the first time since 2019, the top four most watched films surpassed the 20 million euro threshold in gross receipts, highlighting a robust appetite for high profile titles.
Action emerged as the dominant genre in terms of overall share this year, with comedy and animation following as strong contenders in audience preference. The lineup demonstrated a diverse mix of genres that appealed to broad audience segments, reinforcing Spain’s position as a vibrant and evolving market for international and national cinema alike.