Penélope Cruz on three 2026 films and reuniting with Bardem on screen
The Oscar-winning Spanish actress discusses her work in La Bola Negra, Bunker and The Invite, each released or releasing this year.
Penélope Cruz has had an unusually prolific 2026. In an episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, recorded at 1 Hotel Toronto, the Spanish actress discussed her work in the Netflix film La Bola Negra, directed by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo; the Sony Classics film Bunker, directed by Florian Zeller; and the A24 film The Invite, directed by Olivia Wilde.
Cruz, the first and only Spanish actress to have won an acting Oscar, has built her career across European and American productions.
La Bola Negra and its musical demands
In La Bola Negra, Cruz plays a bawdy cabaret singer entertaining troops during the Spanish Civil War. The role required months of intensive preparation for a central musical number, which she performed in front of hundreds of extras. According to The Hollywood Reporter, this performance came amid a health scare and arrived as a surprise to those on set.
The film draws on the writings and legacy of Federico García Lorca, taking its name from one of his unfinished plays. According to Variety, it earned Ambrossi and Calvo the best director prize at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. The film later took home the audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival, a first for a Netflix title at that festival and for an international feature there in 15 years. Spain submitted it as its official entry for the Academy Award for International Feature Film.
The film opens in New York and Los Angeles on October 16 before rolling out nationally and to Canada, with some theaters showing it in 35mm. According to Variety, it arrives on Netflix in both countries on December 2.
Bunker and her reunion with Bardem
In Bunker, Cruz plays a book editor navigating marital strife, opposite her husband Javier Bardem. The two first worked together on the 1992 Spanish film Jamón, Jamón, early in both their careers.
The Invite and collaborative filmmaking
In Olivia Wilde’s The Invite, Cruz takes on the role of a bohemian sexologist. The Hollywood Reporter notes that Wilde, along with writers Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, worked in an unusually collaborative manner with their actors to construct the film’s script.
Recognition for La Bola Negra
The recognition for La Bola Negra continues with its selection to receive The Gotham Vanguard Tribute at the Gotham Film Awards on November 30 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. The tribute will honor the filmmakers and cast for their work on the project. The Gotham Film & Media Institute’s executive director said the film exemplifies the kind of ambitious, inventive work the tribute was designed to recognize, praising its emotional resonance and its connection to Lorca’s legacy as an essential twentieth-century voice.
This article was compiled by the Glamorade editorial desk from the official announcements and reporting listed under Sources.
