Netflix Nabs Global Rights, Except for Spain and France, for 'Eye for an Eye'

The Spanish revenge thriller from '[REC]' director Paco Plaza stars Luis Tosar as a retirement home nurse who gets entangled with a cartel boss.


Netflix, which sat out Sundance this year, has snatched up its first buy of the Cannes Film Market, taking rights for the world, excluding Spain and France, on Eye for an Eye, a revenge thriller from [REC] director Paco Plaza.


The deal with sales operation Film Constellation, for a reported seven-figure amount, is Netflix's biggest acquisition for an indie Spanish-language film.


As Netflix boosts local-language content on its platform, the streaming giant has become a major buyer for non-English fare. In Toronto last year, Netflix nabbed its first-ever Nigerian movie, taking worldwide rights to Genevieve Nnaji's directorial debut Lionheart.


Eye for an Eye features Spanish star Luis Tosar (Cell 211) as a retirement home nurse who becomes entangled with an infamous cartel boss who is put into his care after being discharged from prison.


Sony has Spanish rights to the film and is releasing the movie later this summer. French pay TV rights for Eye for an Eye are with Canal Plus. The film is currently in postproduction.


Plaza co-directed, with Jaume Balagueró, the 2007 indie horror hit [REC], which grossed more than $30 million and spawned a franchise. His last film, Veronica, was a critical and commercial hit in Spain, where it earned more than $4 million.


Eye for an Eye was produced by Emma Lustres of Vaca Films in co-production with Playtime, and Atresmedia Cine, with the participation of Antena 3 and Movistar+.