Collision Course: The Spanish Netflix Thriller That Broke Into the Most-Watched Lists in the US and Worldwide

Daniel Sánchez Arévalo’s film, produced by Bambú Producciones and shot in Madrid, was Netflix’s second most-watched non-English film worldwide in its first week, with 10.7 million views in just three days. Its run confirms the growing weight of Spanish productions on US streaming platforms.

Collision Course (Colisión in Spanish) premiered on Netflix worldwide on October 30, with no theatrical release. In its first three days on the platform, from October 30 to November 1, it racked up 10.7 million views and 18.9 million hours viewed, according to Netflix’s official rankings. It was the second most-watched non-English film in the world that week.

Daily rankings from FlixPatrol, which are not official Netflix data, placed it as the platform’s most-watched film worldwide on November 2. According to the same source, it reached number one in 64 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Spain. A week after its release, it was still Netflix’s most-watched film in Spain.

Daniel Sánchez Arévalo’s First Thriller

Collision Course marks a change of register for Daniel Sánchez Arévalo, director of Dark Blue Almost Black, Cousinhood, Family United and Seventeen, who is best known for comedy and drama. The director has said the project came from a proposal by Ramón Campos, who asked him whether he wanted to try a different genre. The two co-wrote the screenplay, and Campos also serves as executive producer.

The film follows a bank robbery in Madrid, set in the middle of an economic crisis, that spirals out of control after a car crash. What looks like a routine heist turns into a game of competing versions in which no one is who they claim to be. The cast includes Laia Costa, Karra Elejalde, Luis Zahera, Tamar Novas, Álvaro Cervantes and Lluís Homar, with Adriana Ozores in a supporting role. The score is by Federico Jusid and Lorenzo Perelmuter, and the cinematography by Rafa García.

Critical reception has been mixed. In El País, Javier Ocaña praised the director’s change of style and the construction of the story, while noting a less convincing ending and an excessive debt to Run Lola Run and Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.

Bambú: A Spanish Production Company Used to Working With the Platforms

Behind Collision Course is Bambú Producciones, the company founded by Ramón Campos and Teresa Fernández-Valdés, which is now part of the French group StudioCanal. Bambú has produced series such as Grand Hotel, Velvet, Cocaine Coast and The Asunta Case, and works with several US streaming platforms:

  • Netflix: Cable Girls, High Seas and, this year, the series Oasis, shot in Tenerife.
  • Prime Video: A Private Affair.
  • Apple TV+: Now & Then.

Sánchez Arévalo’s relationship with Netflix is not new either: it began in 2019 with Seventeen, his return to feature filmmaking after six years. The director has already wrapped his next film, Caza mayor, a rural thriller with a western feel shot in Fregenal de la Sierra (Badajoz).

Shot in Madrid, Watched Around the World

Collision Course was shot in and around Madrid in late 2025, under the working title Cruzados. It is an example of the kind of production Netflix commissions in Spain: local stories, made with Spanish crews and locations, designed for a global audience from the start.

That model has industrial backing. In June 2025, marking its tenth anniversary in Spain, Netflix announced an investment of more than €1 billion in the country between 2025 and 2028. Its production hub in Tres Cantos, near Madrid, covers 22,000 square meters, with ten soundstages and a post-production center.

What This Says About the Spanish Film Industry

The run of Collision Course shows something the industry has been demonstrating for years:

  • Spanish stories travel, including to the US market.
  • Spanish production companies regularly work for the major US streaming platforms.
  • Spanish crews can deliver a fast-paced action thriller for a simultaneous release in more than 190 countries.

For international producers, the takeaway is clear: Spain offers not only locations and tax incentives, but also creative talent and production companies with experience in global projects.

At Soul Pictures, we develop and produce feature films and series with international appeal, and we provide production services to foreign companies filming in Spain. If you are looking for a production partner in Spain for your next project, talk to our team.