🎬 53 Sundays (2026)
Based on play/musical
53 Sundays (Spanish: 53 domingos) is a 2026 Spanish comedy-drama film that marks filmmaker Cesc Gay’s return to the big screen, adapting his own acclaimed stage play 53 diumenges. The original Catalan-language play premiered at Barcelona’s Teatre Romea in 2020, where it was celebrated for its incisive, painfully funny look at sibling relationships. Gay, known for his keenly observed urban comedies like Truman and A Gun in Each Hand, both writes and directs this Netflix adaptation, bringing his theatrical story to a global streaming audience.
At the heart of the story is a family meeting called by three very different siblings who must decide what to do with their 86-year-old father. The film stars Javier Cámara, Carmen Machi, Javier Gutiérrez, and Alexandra Jiménez as the siblings, a cast of some of Spain’s most beloved screen actors. Shooting took place primarily in Netflix’s production hub in Tres Cantos and on location in central Madrid, with cinematography by Andreu Rebés using Arri Alexa 35 cameras and Leica Summilux C lenses to capture the intimate, conversational drama.
Adapting his own work for a new medium, Gay translates the single-setting tension of the stage to the screen, promising the same blend of biting wit and emotional honesty that characterized the play. While the original production featured an all-Catalan cast, the film presents the narrative in Spanish, widening its reach. The project was first showcased by Netflix at the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival in September 2024, generating anticipation ahead of its 2026 release. Early reviews, such as a four-star rating from Cinemanía, have praised how Gay turns a seemingly trite setup into something fresh, fun, and resonant.
53 diumenges (Catalan for "53 Sundays") is a stage play written and directed by acclaimed Spanish filmmaker and playwright Cesc Gay. The comedy-drama premiered in 2020 at the historic Teatre Romea in Barcelona. A co-production between Misògines, Elefant, Mola and Teatre Romea, the play explores the complex and often combustible dynamics between adult siblings.
The story revolves around three siblings who convene for a family meeting to decide the future care of their elderly 86-year-old father. What begins as a practical discussion quickly unravels into bickering, long-held resentments, and darkly comic confrontations. The play examines how the past is never truly past between brothers and sisters, and how the smallest remark can detonate decades of buried tension.
The original stage production featured a cast led by prominent Catalan actors including Pere Arquillué, initially alongside Cristina Plazas, and later Marta Marco, along with Àgata Roca and Lluís Villanueva. The production was noted for its sharp, empathetic writing and its ability to find both humor and pathos in the mundane yet emotionally charged setting of a family gathering, establishing Cesc Gay’s confident voice in the theatre world following his successful debut play Els veïns de dalt.