2bOriginals, NewBe to Produce Hit Film Franchise ‘Misfit’ for Spanish-speaking Markets (EXCLUSIVE)
By John Hopewell
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – MADRID — 2bOriginals, the newly created production arm of 2b, a leading digital media group with offices in Spain, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and the U.S., is teaming with top Dutch production company NewBe to produce hit film franchise ‘Misfit’ for Spanish-speaking markets.
The remake forms part of a deal which sees 2bOriginals acquiring the rights to develop “Misfit” in different territories.
First up is a version for Latin America, produced by 2bOriginals subsidiary Touché Films, the company behind Enchufe.tv comedy channel, a runaway success in Mexico and Ecuador, and hit 2019 feature film “Dedicada a Mi Ex.”
The alliance marks a meeting of like minds. Distinguished by its appeal to young Spanish-speaking audiences in a digital environment – its 20 YouTube channels have some 40 million-50 million subscribers – 2b is fast leveraging that reach into the creation of teen content for theatrical, platforms and beyond.
NewBe is one of the Netherlands fastest-expanding production companies, and the only Dutch production house with original films or series on all major platforms (Netflix, Amazon, Videoland, YouTube).
Targeting 7-14 girls and originally developed, packaged and produced by NewBe and Germany’s Splendid Film, with a view to creating an international film franchise, the original 2017 “Misfit” movie starred Djamila, the most popular female YouTuber in the Netherlands, as Julia, who moves back from the U.S., where she was the most popular girl at high-school, to the Netherland. There at school, she is cast in the misfits, loser squad.
Getting on and then off with a sensitive fellow student who composes songs, she leads a campaign to claim everyone is a misfit and triumphs in the school talent singing contest. With a cast packed out by social media influencers and boyband 4U, “Misfit” and late 2019’s “Misfit 2,” where Julia teams with VIP Squad arch bitch leader, who discovers a sweeter side – were box office hits in the Netherlands and have spawned remake hits in Germany and Poland. It will soon be the most remade Dutch movie ever.
“‘Misfit’ is a feel-good movie that stresses the importance of being yourself and believing in yourself,” said Jeroen Koopman, NewBe CEO and founder. “In the Netherlands more then 80% of girls 8-12 have seen the movie. The idea that we can make this happen across Latin America gives us goose bumps.”
“The ‘Misfit’ franchise is a great fit for some of our young, Spanish-speaking digitally native audience ,” explains Bastian Manintveld, chairman of 2b.
He added: “We are always working on new and exciting ways for us to scale up and reach this audience through traditional media and hope that this is one of the first of many projects we will work on with NewBe.”
“With ‘Misfit’ we will build upon the experience and strategies that helped make our first movie ‘Dedicada a mi Ex’ a huge success,” explains Arturo Yépez, CEO of Touché Films.
He went on to say that the remake will be a feel-good comedy with some of the best elements from the EnchufeTV cast and talent mixed with some of the biggest influencers from across Latin America.
For Yépez, “Misfit’s” Latin American version will “take a generation of Latinos who have spent their whole lives in the U.S., and bring them back to their parents’ countries of origin, to find their own culture and re-discover themselves in a fun-comedic way.”
“Dedicada a Mi Ex” was released in theaters in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Mexico with a total box office of $2.2 million, selling over 600,000 cinema tickets. It is the highest-grossing Ecuadorian film in history.
2b is now made up of 2bOriginals, through which it produces for television, cinema and OTT platforms, and 2btube, which manages top social media influencers and offers solutions for companies that want to reach online audiences. 2btube also runs YouTube channels on behalf of its brand customers and designs strategies for paid media campaigns on digital platforms.
“2bOriginals was born because with 2btube our customers are brands and agencies and with 2bOriginals when we make film and television it’s more of a traditional TV and film production and distribution ecosystem,” said Manintveld.
He added. “So different brands and activities for different audiences. Still focused on the same young audience.”
Enchufe.tv, has more than 19 million subscribers on YouTube and 30 million followers on digital platforms. In addition, enchufe.tv is distributed on basic cable on Comedy Central in Latin America, on Galavision in the US as well as on free TV in Ecuador, Peru and other countries.
Based in Cologne, Splendid Film purchases films on the global market and markets them across the entire value-added chain, mainly in German-speaking regions and Benelux countries.
