Comedy remains one of the major genres of domestic production across Europe, and its dominance is expected to last for a long time thanks to how the production model has seamlessly integrated digital platforms into its financing and exploitation chain. Thirteen Spanish-produced comedies have generated almost half of Spanish cinema's income, reaching 39 million euros.
Comedy is one of the best performing genres on the platforms, especially in its aim to consolidate itself within the local markets, rather than globally, where its own mainstream US-produced products are still preferred.
The key to these successes, not only in Spain, but also in countries like France, Italy and Germany, lies in how these productions have been co-financed through a structure that combines the participation of a local media group – Atresmedia or Mediaset in Spain – with the support of platforms, such as Netflix or Prime.
According to data from Digital i, during 2024, six Spanish comedies were in the top 10 most watched Spanish films on Netflix and Amazon. Father There is Only One 4 (Netflix) leads the list with 2.14 million views (fourth in the top 10), followed by La familia Benetón (Uncle Trouble) (Netflix), with 2.05 million views (fifth place). Other notable titles include Under Therapy (Netflix) with 1.75 million views; Disco, Ibiza, Locomía (Netflix) with 1.73 million views; Something Is About to Happen (Amazon) with 1.66 million views; and The Quiet Maid (Netflix) with 1.63 million views. Of these titles, four involved Amazon or Netflix from the development phase. They are joined by other films, such as Matusalén (Methuselah) (Amazon), Politically Incorrect (Netflix) and the huge success of A House on Fire (Netflix).
This year, the new production and exploitation ecosystem has proven to be solid, thanks to the remarkable box-office performance of some films and a general success on the platforms. However, this model still needs to be further adjusted to better balance its relationship with theatrical development.