As per John Hopewell in Variety, Juan Antonio Bayona's psychological thriller The Orphanage has grossed €5.8 million at the Spanish box office during its first few days of release. That is supposedly the second best opening ever — after Santiago Segura's Torrente 3 — for a Spanish film. (I'm assuming inflation hasn't been factored in.)
The Orphanage, which was much talked about at this year's Cannes Film Festival, tells the story of a woman who moves to an old mansion that happens to be the orphanage where she grew up. Shortly thereafter, her young son starts talking about his cool playmates, who just happen to be invisible. (I haven't seen the film, yet, so I don't know who exactly is the pretty creature in the picture.)
Belén Rueda, excellent as the attorney suffering from a progressive disease in The Sea Inside, stars. Others in the cast are Fernando Cayo, Geraldine Chaplin, Roger Príncep (as the boy), and another first-rate The Sea Inside performer, Mabel Rivera.
The screenplay is by Sergio G. Sánchez. Guillermo del Toro, who's quite familiar with those sorts of tales — see Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone — is one of the film's producers.
The Orphanage is Spain's entry for this year's best foreign-language film Academy Award. In the US, the film will open in limited release on Dec. 28.
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