Bird Box Barcelona reveals Netflix’s international franchise strategy

The Future. The see-them-and-die monsters of Netflix’s 2018 hit Bird Box popped up in Barcelona this past weekend, with Bird Box Barcelona becoming the first major test of the streamer’s local-language spin-off strategy for popular films. While it may not chart too highly in the US, expect Netflix to consider it a hit if it drives sign-ups with Spanish-language audiences.

Universal language
Using the same premise, Bird Box Barcelona explores how people in the Catalan city would react to the global threat, featuring a mixed Latino and European cast, including Diego Calva, Mario Casas, and Georgina Campbell.

• It’s part of Netflix’s new strategy of franchising films for local audiences, including Zack Snyder’s zombie thriller, Army of the Dead, and the Spanish hit Money Heist.
• The thinking is that as a global platform, Netflix can develop regional hits from (typically) English-language blockbusters.
• That helps drive growth in emerging markets, as opposed to the US, where subscribers have already peaked.

Netflix isn’t the only streamer using this strategy. Amazon Prime dreamed up the spy-thriller Citadel, which comes from the minds of the Russo Brothers, as a literal globe-trotting series, with interconnected versions from various countries.

Citadel hasn’t really become the hit Amazon thought it would, but it did do great in India, thanks to star Priyanka Chopra Jonas. So, don’t be surprised if the Indian version of Citadel drops next.