'Wolfgang' drives Catalan-language cinema to second-highest audience in history

Catalan-language films had their second-best year on record in 2025, drawing 5.47% of cinema audiences in Spain, according to ComScore data shared with the Catalan News Agency (ACN) by the Catalan Institute of Cultural Companies (ICEC).

Movies in Catalan fell short of the record 7.84% audience share set in 2024, but 2025 marked only the third time in 30 years the 5% threshold has been surpassed.

Following the record-breaking success of A House on Fire (Casa en Flames) and The 47 (El 47) in 2024, 2025’s most-watched Catalan film was Wolfgang, Javier Ruiz Caldera's sensitive and humorous tale of a young autistic boy adjusting to life with his father after his mother's death.

Total tickets sold for films in Catalan – whether in the original version, dubbed, or subtitled – reached 646,328, down from the one million sold in 2024.

Steady growth

The past few years have seen Catalan-language films consolidate their share of the box office.

During the 2000s and 2010s, the average audience share hovered around 3%, according to ICEC.

Over the past four years, however, the numbers have been consistently higher. In 2022, Carla Simón's Alcarràs helped achieve a record 5.2% share. The following year it dipped to 3.2%, before 2024 soared to an unprecedented 7.8%.

Provisional ComScore figures for 2025 show Catalan films approaching a 5.5% audience share, though the data omits some smaller cinemas that typically boost the percentage slightly.

Overall, 646,328 tickets were sold last year for films in Catalan. Of these, nearly half were for original-language screenings (311,178). Dubbed versions fell to 151,979 viewers, the lowest outside pandemic years 2020–2021. In contrast, subtitled screenings reached record highs, drawing 183,171 viewers.

Wolfgang – the most popular Catalan-language film of 2025 – drew nearly 130,000 viewers in its first four weeks, and close to 600,000 across Spain, including the Spanish-dubbed versions. It became the second most-watched film shot in Catalan ever, behind The 47, and earned €3.9 million at the box office.

For more on Catalan cinema's recent standout titles, see our guide: Catalan cinema shines in 2025: 8 must‑watch films leading the awards season.