Yet stronger returns have not eased the battle for screens. At Merci’s sixth edition, distributors, exhibitors and streaming executives confronted crowded release calendars, last-minute bookings and a theatrical market increasingly reliant on a handful of hits.
Rebuilding the Middle
“There are 14 or 15 releases every week, Spanish and international. Neither audiences nor cinemas can absorb that,” warned Wanda Visión’s Miguel Morales at the Merci roundtable “Cinemas, Distributors and Platforms: Together for Audiences.”
“Sometimes 80% of a weekend’s box office may come from just one film. That’s not healthy either,” said Beta Fiction Spain CEO Mercedes Gamero. “We need variety, and those mid-range films must also be able to survive and become profitable.”
Theatrical Windows Under Scrutiny
Exhibitors and platforms agreed that a theatrical run creates value beyond ticket sales, but differed on how long films should remain exclusive to cinemas.
“We feed off cinemas,” said Movistar Plus editorial director Íñigo Trojaola. His platform premieres around 280 films a year, roughly 180 of them independent, yet cannot accommodate everything offered.
Streaming executives defended theatrical exclusivity but pushed for flexibility when films quickly disappear from screens. “Sometimes that window is so rigid that it condemns films to silence,” Trojaola warned.
From left, moderator Daniel Matilla, Eva Rekettyei, Octavio Alzola, Mercedes Gamero, Miguel Morales, Íñigo Trojaola and José Antonio de Luna at Merci 2026. Courtesy of Seminci/Photogenic.
Filmin COO and co-founder José Antonio de Luna raised the risk of piracy when a title leaves theaters but remains unavailable legally for months. “Not all films are alike,” he said, calling for approaches suited to different releases.
A striking example of cooperation came from Oliver Laxe’s “Sirât,” which was still playing at Cines Renoir when Movistar Plus started promoting its forthcoming streaming premiere. The campaign brought more people into theaters.
“When the film’s premiere on Movistar was announced and the campaign began, we noticed that more people came to the cinema to see it that week,” Alzola recalled.
More Buyers at Merci
Cienfuegos’ Legacy and La Meseta Awards
Otilio García Gobeo, a longtime figure at Golem Cinemas and Golem Distribución, receives the José Luis Cienfuegos Award at Merci 2026. Courtesy of Seminci/Photogenic
