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Netflix Mexico has unveiled a rousing new slate in production this year that includes the series debut of Luis Estrada (“¡Que viva México!”), a new pic from Rodrigo Garcia (“Familia”), another series from hit-maker José Ignacio “Chascas” Valenzuela (“Who Killed Sara?”) and “La Reina del Sur”’s Kate del Castillo unusually toplining a comedy.

Also leading the pack is series “Gringo Hunters,” produced by Woo Films and Redrum in co-production with Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment in association with The Washington Post.

Said Francisco Ramos, VP of content for Latin America: “We begin 2024 by reaffirming our commitment to show Mexico, just as it is, on Netflix. This diverse and complex Mexico –immensely rich, sometimes contradictory, and with enormous possibilities– is what inspires, motivates and makes us always keep an eye out for the best stories, so that our offer is even more ambitious and accurate.”

“We will continue to explore...

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Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Fubar” scored big this week as it debuted in the No. 1 spot on Netflix’s English TV List with 88.94 million hours viewed.

The action comedy series, which marked Schwarzenegger’s first TV series, has received more than 12 million views and appeared in the Top 10 in 90 countries this week. The first installment of “To All The Boys” spinoff “Xo, Kitty” followed closely behind “Fubar” in second place with 63.78 million hours viewed while “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” took the third spot on the English TV list with 42.9 million hours, boosting the “Bridgerton” spinoff series to 66 million overall views since its debut as it climbed to the Top 10 in 91 countries. “Bridgerton” Season 2 also made an appearance on this week’s list, though it dropped down to the No. 10 spot with 12.54 million hours watched.

When you debut a new movie starring a major A-lister like Jennifer Lopez on streaming, it’s likely to be successful, and that was the case with Netflix’s new action-thriller “The Mother.” It debuted atop the Netflix Top 10 (Week of May 8) viewing chart, far ahead of the second-place film “A Man Called Otto.” Read on for more analysis.

Directed by Niki Caro, Lopez’s “The Mother” hit the streamer on Friday and managed to rack up 83.7 million global viewing hours to top the English film chart over a number of non-Netflix movies. It was the #1 film in the U.S. and Canada, as well as 80 other countries, and it was in the top 10 in 93 countries total.

Tom Hanks‘ “A Man Called Otto” dropped to second place with 19.9 million hours viewed, followed by DreamWorks Animation’s 10-year-old animated film “The Croods” with 8.7 million hours viewed.

See Netflix shuts down DVD...

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Jennifer Lopez-led “The Mother” has scored Netflix’s biggest opening weekend for a film of 2023 with 83.71 million hours viewed since its premiere.

The action thriller, which follows skilled assassin who emerges amid danger to protect her daughter, reached the No. 1 spot in 82 countries with nearly 43 million views. Directed by Niki Caro, “The Mother” nabbed the top spot on the streamer’s English films list this week, with “A Man Called Otto” and “The Croods” following in second and third place, respectively.

On the TV front, “Bridgerton” spinoff “Queen Charlotte” maintained its crown on the English TV list, pulling in an additional 158.68 million hours viewed this week as it appeared in the Top 10 in 91 countries. Now amassing 307 million total hours viewed and over 47 million views, the Shonda Rhimes-created romantic drama...

Just before “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Universal) arrives on PVOD May 16 (an unusually long 41 days after theatrical release), three films — two are new releases — ranked #1 this week.

May 12 saw the debut of two movies with similar plots. In “The Mother,” Jennifer Lopez is a retired government agent who rescues the daughter she gave up for adoption years before, while “Hypnotic” stars Ben Affleck as a cop trying to find his missing daughter. There the resemblance ends: “The Mother” is #1 at Netflix, while Robert Rodriguez’s $70 million “Hypnotic” opened in theaters to disastrous results.

The difference doesn’t lie with the couple’s respective star power, and both films draw on the same “Taken” template. However, “The Mother” seems fresher with Lopez in the Liam Neeson/Gerard Butler role and it’s a streaming original — a platform that makes it easier to attract viewers with a familiar name.

Affleck remains a viable draw.

¡Que viva México! is a film directed by Luis Estrada starring Damián Alcázar, Alfonso Herrera, Joaquín Cosío and Ana Martín.

A Mexican comedy about Mexico that takes life, tradition, family, the political system, customs and seriousness itself… as a joke.

A comedy that knows that comedy -or a certain kind of comedy- is based on stereotypes and plays with them in a healthy and even intelligent way.

It will have, for sure, its detractors, but you won’t find us among them.

¡Que viva México! Movie review

A comedy about the rich and the poor, mariachis, drunks, cheap brothels, yellowed walls, and mold everywhere. Between bad taste for some, intelligent provocation for others and, for others (for sure) stupidity.

It is a combination of (Mexican) humor that laughs at all the Mexican clichés and makes this encounter between two parallel universes an enriching experience that leaves no one indifferent.

You may like it or not,...

¡Que viva México!, Luis Estrada’s new political satire -- and his first film in almost a decade -- will have a wide theatrical release in Mexico, on Thursday, March 23. It’ll be distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing International. ¡Que viva México! was financed by Netflix but, ultimately, Estrada rejected the original plan to show the three-hour-plus picture only in select theaters. Netflix had made an exception to put Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths in commercial theaters, so Estrada sought the same for his film. When the company refused to do so, he himself bought the theatrical rights, though ¡Que viva México! will eventually join Netflix’s catalog. ¡Que viva México! promises to be in the same vein as other Estrada...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Exclusive: Sony Pictures International Productions has picked up worldwide theatrical rights to ¡Que Viva México! — the latest in a series of political satires from filmmaker Luis Estrada — slating it for release on more than 3,000 screens across Mexico, via Sony Pictures Releasing International, on March 23.

The film follows Pancho Reyes (Alfonso Herrera), a prosperous and “aspirational” middle class man who 20 years ago, abandoned his hometown and entirely forgot all about his very large and very poor family. One day, he receives unexpected news, when his father informs him that his grandfather, Don Francisco Reyes (Joaquín Cosío), a rich old miner, just passed away, and that he is part of his will and possible heir.

Motivated by greed, Pancho decides to go back to the remote town of La Prosperidad to meet with his estranged and resented family, taking his wife, kids, and maid with him. But the mere presence of Pancho,...