– Frank Ariza’s production company has secured the rights to the box-office hit starring Checco Zalone and Beatriz Arjona, set largely along the Camino de Santiago
Beatriz Arjona and Checco Zalone in Buen Camino
With global ambitions, Spanish production company AF continues to develop films that blend humour, emotion and thought-provoking themes, as seen in recent titles such as Fragmentos, Islas and Reversión. Their latest example is the acquisition of the rights to the Italian film Buen Camino, starring Checco Zalone and Beatriz Arjona, which earlier this year became the highest-grossing film in the Italy’s history. Directed by Gennaro Nunziante, the film was produced by Indiana Production with Medusa Film, in collaboration with MZL and Netflix. Released on 25 December 2025, it grossed more than €70 million at the box office in under a month and drew over eight million cinema-goers (read the article). PiperPlay is handling the sale of remake rights.
As Frank Ariza has said, “At AF, we feel a deep connection to Buen Camino because it’s a story that, through humour, speaks to something essential: human relationships and second chances.” We’re drawn to projects like this one, that can make audiences laugh and move them at the same time, inviting them to see themselves reflected in the characters. And the fact that the story unfolds along the Camino de Santiago is especially meaningful at this moment, as next year marks the Xacobeo, or Compostela Holy Year (whenever the Feast of St. James the Apostle, on 25 July, falls on a Sunday), making this project a particularly unique opportunity to connect with a deeply rooted tradition that also has strong international appeal”.
Daniel Campos Pavoncelli, from the Italian production company Indiana, adds: “Buen Camino proved that a story about a father, a daughter and a journey can become a commercial hit without relying on a franchise. That’s precisely why it works so well. We’re truly honoured that it is reaching such a wide audience. A Spanish-language remake is the next logical step: the Camino de Santiago is in Spain, part of Spanish culture, and has a potential audience already familiar with the setting. For all these reasons, we’re very proud that AF is producing this remake.”
Buen Camino joins the recent list of successful Italian comedies remade in Spain, including, among others, the feature film I Can Quit Whenever I Want, Carlos Theron’s 2019 remake of Sydney Sibilia’s I Can Quit Whenever I Want, which grossed over eleven million euros at the Spanish box office; and Perfect Strangers, directed by Álex de la Iglesia in 2017 (grossing 20 million euros in Spain), based on Paolo Genovese’s Perfect Strangers, which had been released just a year earlier in Italy. Javier Fesser has also filmed a sequel, Perfectos conocidos (read more).
(Translated from Spanish)
