Netflix’s The Eternaut has brought in more than US$35 million to the Argentine economy, according to a report shared by the streaming service.

A week from its release, the adaptation of Héctor G. Oesterheld’s sci-fi graphic novel is currently the platform’s top non-English-speaking show, with 10.8 million views worldwide. It also made the Top 10 weekly ranking for series in 87 countries, including Brazil, France, India, the United States, Italy, Mexico, Germany, and Spain, among others.

Netflix has already confirmed that a second season is coming.

The show’s economic impact was revealed by a survey conducted last April, evaluating how the show’s production costs translated into added value and production.

With a reported US$15 million budget, the adaptation process took two years of script development and writing, four-and-a-half months of pre-production, 148 shooting days in Buenos Aires, and more than a year and a half of post-production. The project was shot in more than 50 locations and 35 virtual settings, with 2,900 people involved, including cast and extras.

You may be interested in reading: Want to visit the real locations of Netflix’s ‘The Eternaut?’

Starring Argentina’s top actor Ricardo Darín, The Eternaut is a post-apocalyptic tale that kicks off when a mysterious, deadly snowfall suddenly kills the majority of the population, leaving thousands stranded. The survivors will then learn to support each other in order to resist and fight a mysterious enemy.

The VFX managed to reenact a large portion of Buenos Aires, using photogrammetry and 3D scanning techniques, combining drones, cameras, and various technologies to capture streets, trains, facades, and cityscapes with pinpoint precision.

According to Netflix, the technology used in the making of The Eternaut not only optimized production but also opened “a new paradigm for the Argentine audiovisual industry,” facilitating total creative control and allowing for real-time adjustments during filming. 

The technological aspects of the production are being praised as an industry turning point, with a direct impact on the sector’s economy, the creation of specialized technical jobs, and the region’s positioning in audiovisual innovation.

Argentine cinema in dire straits

The Eternaut boom comes at a dire time for the Argentine audiovisual industry, as the government has seemingly had local cinema and the National Institute of Film and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA, for its Spanish initials) in its crosshairs since day one. 

In the package of sweeping state reforms known as the Ley Omnibus that the Milei administration initially sent to Congress in December 2023, the film institute was among the public institutions that the president could either close or restructure. The INCAA was eventually pulled from the list when the revised law was approved in June 2024.

In March of last year, the government officially suspended the institute’s operational funding and set about a series of layoffs as part of its austerity plan for the public sector. That same month, a demonstration outside Argentina’s classic Gaumont movie theater meant to protest cuts for the INCAA was met with a police crackdown, with officers teargassing the crowd and arresting four people.

In April 2024, the INCAA was shut down, and staff were sent on temporary leave while the institution, which funds and supports local film production, went through what was called an internal reorganization.