The father figure triumphs: this Spanish film is number one in 2025 (and it's not Segura's)

Despite the tsunami of Santiago Segura and his Father, there is only one 5 in the coming weeks, the creators of Wolfgang (Extraordinary) can be very happy. This tender, funny film with its reflective perspective on serious topics such as suicide and mental illness , which premiered in mid-March, has been the most-watched Spanish film in theaters in the first six months of 2025, reaching almost 4 million euros in revenue and almost 600,000 viewers, figures that in the post-pandemic period are almost insane.

This is further proof that fewer and fewer people are going to the cinemas for mainstream films (while the more regular audiences are holding up), except for spectacular blockbusters like Segura's, which already surpassed 350,000 viewers in its first weekend (last). "Yes, and in fact, I've already written to Santiago telling him it's been a pleasure to be a number one, but that now he's going to sweep the board and do something that Spanish cinema really needs," Javier Ruiz Caldera , director of Wolfgang , told this newspaper.

He does so with sportsmanship, with sympathy, but also as a keen connoisseur of how the industry and moviegoer behavior in theaters work right now. It's been more than five years since the numbers achieved by films—Spanish, but also those from the US—in theaters ceased to be what they once were. In the 2000s, and somewhat less between 2010 and 2020, it wasn't uncommon for several Spanish films to reach €16-€18 million in takings. Ten-to-twelve million could be common for several. Now, if they reach €13 million, as Padre no hay más que uno 4 ( the highest-grossing Spanish film of 2024 ) did last year, they are a resounding success. Platforms, other forms of entertainment, the internet, changes in consumption, ticket prices... There are many causes behind a phenomenon that also has another downside: it allows smaller films less destined for big numbers to shine .

Until the pandemic, it wasn't unusual for Spanish films to reach 18-20 million in box office receipts. Now, a blockbuster is stuck at 4 million.

And one of them has been this Wolfgang , which, despite having Mediaset behind it— Padre No Hay Más Que Uno 5 is backed by Atresmedia: that's where the other pull of private channels with blockbusters lies— wasn't initially destined to be the comedy that would sweep theaters. To begin with, because although it has humor, it's far from the broad comedy of a TV series' joke. Nor is it a thriller of the kind that later ends up on Netflix. However, it has managed to use other ingredients that have been very popular and that also tell us something about what viewers want in a movie theater these days . And it's something that's also being seen in other Spanish films that have performed very well, such as Avelina Prats' Una Quinta Portuguesa .

Wolfgang has charm, it has that thing now called "feelgood" (it leaves you with a warm heart), and it also delves into two compelling themes, as both director Ruiz Caldera and Laia Aguilar, the author of the novel on which it's based and which was already a hit in 2016 with more than 20,000 copies sold, and one of the film's screenwriters, tell El Confidencial: positive parenting and mental health . It's a beautiful, well-made family film that treats you intelligently while delving into difficult topics. However, there's no formula for success: "We trusted that the film would be liked, that it would be a family film, that this would also broaden the audience a bit, that it would generate debate upon leaving due to the issues it touches on... But this has been a surprise that we're enjoying because it doesn't usually happen. We do have the feeling that we did something right," admits the director.

The good father

“This is a topic that particularly interests me because there's a generation of filmmakers trying to balance their professional and personal lives and be present in their children's lives. There are many very interesting films about fatherhood that have been made recently, a kind of fatherhood that's also far removed from the image of the disastrous father who doesn't know how to do things. In Wolfgang , the father encounters a fatherhood he didn't expect. He does what he can, but he tries to do it well,” says Ruiz Caldera about this topic.

To bring the reader up to date: in the film we have a father played by Miki Esparbé - remember this name because he is going to be one of the stars of the coming months - who, after the death of his mother, has to take care of his son Wolfgang (Jordi Catalán), a child who is highly gifted and autistic and who dreams of entering the Grimald music academy in Paris, so the father has to decide between putting his acting career first or dedicating himself body and soul to helping his son.

“Yes, it would have been easy to fall into the cliché of the disastrous father who doesn't understand anything his son is doing, but we built a father who sometimes makes mistakes, but gets up and keeps trying. And above all, he's a father who is always by his son's side , supporting him and also helping him understand his life trauma . He gives him a space to talk, to express himself, and I find that much more interesting. We wanted to show that a father can, just like a mother, raise their son and do it well,” says Aguilar.

Indeed, even Santiago Segura himself has evolved his male characters from the more Torrentian ones of the 90s and 2000s to a father with more empathy. "Santiago is a guy who is very connected to reality, very intelligent, and he knows that he wouldn't have had the success he has if he had remained a stereotypical figure," concedes Ruíz Caldera.

"Motherhood may already be a mainstream topic, so it's a great time to talk about fathers."

But there's more: positive fatherhood exists. Many fathers are trying to balance work and personal life and want to see themselves in movies. And there are starting to be more and more books, films, and TV series about this figure. Even more so after motherhood —good, bad, average, the kind that is and the kind that isn't—has been more prominent in recent years. "Yes, there are many female directors making very interesting films, but it's true that something was missing, and that's this figure of fathers, who aren't remote from parenting, nor are we a disaster. I really enjoy films about mothers, about fatherhood when they're done well, obviously. Now, the film that will take the number one spot from us in a week, in a few days, also tells us about a different kind of fatherhood," the director points out.

"There was something missing in the film, and it's this figure of parents who aren't far removed from parenting, nor are we a disaster."

Laia Aguilar says that when she began writing the book , the motherhood boom was just beginning, "which was also very necessary to be able to express motherhood in all its forms," ​​she adds, "but it's possible that it's already a very mainstream topic and the subject of fatherhood isn't as touched upon, so it's a great time to talk about fathers." The writer, who has been giving talks in schools since publishing the novel—in Catalonia it's often suggested as a reading list—asserts that what she intended was to write "a story with a beautiful arc about a father and son who go through many difficulties and where the bond is possible and they can move forward." And it was well-received.

Talking about what was not talked about

The other major theme of the novel and the film is mental health , which in 2016 wasn't as much of a cliché as it is now. Here, Aguilar was also, in some ways, a pioneer. “It's a story with many layers. At first, you think it's about a father and son, and it's true, but in the end, it's about something much deeper, like suicide . I think that's what gives the story so much power,” says the writer, who always thought she wouldn't find a publisher for a young adult book like this. Quite the opposite happened. Not only was it published, but it won the Carlemany Prize for the Promotion of Reading, garnered thousands of readers, and today she gives talks in schools on the book's theme. “In the end, it's what the film is saying: that things need to be talked about, that they need to be put into words, and that nothing's a big deal, and that taboo subjects shouldn't be a requirement. It's been a very nice surprise ,” insists the writer.

"It's one of those films that is a bit like a hymn to life and that the viewer needs."

And, what's more, there's that feeling of well-being when leaving the theater with this film, which has a score between 6 and 7 on Filmaffinity (and for some, it's an 8 or even 9), a reflection that, at the very least, it was liked and not a waste of time. Another driving force of word of mouth . "Yes, it's one of those films that are a bit of a tribute to life, and that the viewer also needs. And they can coexist with much harder films or very alternative ones. Audiences appreciate a type of film like this that isn't just about exaggerated laughter and clichés," Aguilar concludes. Nearly 600,000 viewers paid to leave the theater like that.