Spain’s AF Films has acquired Spanish remake rights to “Buen Camino,” the Italian comedy that recently became the country’s all-time highest-grossing film by scoring a whopping more than $82 million local box office haul.
The “Buen Camino” adaptation agreement between AF Films and Italian sales company Piperplay is the first remake deal to be announced since the comedy – starring local comedy sensation Checco Zalone as a rich and debauched father who zips around in a red Ferrari searching for his runaway daughter along Spain’s famous Camino de Santiago spiritual pilgrimage –became an Italian box office sensation that generated buzz elsewhere in the world.
The protagonist, Checco, is forced to leave his gilded life behind to search for Cristal, his missing teenage daughter. “He thus finds himself, against his will, on the Camino de Santiago, amid hardship, blisters, clashes, and revelations. But this unexpected journey will become the only chance for father and daughter to truly get to know each other,” as the official synopsis puts it
Piperplay is also in advanced talks to sell “Buen Camino” remake rights to France and Germany.
“Buen Camino,” which is produced by Italy’s Vuelta-owned Indiana Production, launched in Italy via Medusa distribution on Dec. 25 and went on to dominate the Italian market, holding the box office spot for the following five weeks, drawing more than 9 million Italians. More significantly, the film surpassed Zalone’s previously held records for a local title, the last of which was with 2016’s “Quo Vado,” about a Southern Italian slacker hellbent on holding on to his parasitic government job even when he is transferred to the North Pole.
Due to its more universal storyline “Buen Camino” can make for more congenial remake material than Zalone’s previous pictures, possibly proving that local comedies can travel.
“We are now in exactly the same position that were were in with “Quo Vado” 10 years ago. The world outside Italy is astonished at our box office haul and wondering, “How did these guys pull it off?,” Buen Camino director Gennaro Nunziante said in an interview with Variety.
“But this time we’ve taken it to the next level, and not just in terms of box office. This film has much more international appeal compared with “Quo Vado,” he noted.
“Buen Camino proved that a story about a father, a daughter, and a road can become a box office phenomenon with no franchise behind it. That’s exactly why it travels,” said Indiana partner Daniel Campos Pavoncelli in a statement.
“We’re very honored that this idea from Gennaro Nunziante and Luca Medici (aka Checco Zalone) is drawing such a broad appeal,” he added.
“The Spanish-language remake is the logical next step: the Camino de Santiago is Spanish territory, Spanish culture, and a potential audience that already knows the geography. We are very proud to have AF Films do this remake,” Campos Pavoncelli went on to point out.
Commented AF chief Frank Aziza: “At AF Films, we feel deeply connected to ‘Buen Camino’ because it is a story that, through humor, speaks to something essential: human relationships and second chances.”
“We are drawn to projects like this one, which have the ability to make audiences laugh and feel at the same time, while inviting them to see themselves reflected in the characters.”
AF Films, which operates between Europe and the U.S., is known for developing high-end feature films and prestige TV projects through strategic studio alliances and cross-border financing models. Recent projects in which AF have been involved include Sundance standout “Sorry, Baby”; thriller “Above and Below,” toplining Antonio Banderas; action movie “Hammer Down,” that they are developing with “Oppenheimer” producer Charles Roven; and HBO Max series “Mariachis.”