Domestic productions have been maintaining a healthy presence at the Spanish box office in recent weeks, spurred on by both Spain's Oscars equivalent, the Goya Awards which took place on January 29, and the growing popularity among cinema-goers of a new generation of young actors.

Director Pedro Almodovar's international hit All About My Mother (Todo Sobre Mi Madre) has now featured in the Spanish charts for an astonishing 42 weeks. The film, which remains on an impressive 73 screens, began dipping in and out of charts after 27 weeks but jumped back in definitively at 34 and returned to the top 10 just before Christmas.

A string of Goyas, including best film and best director, skyrocketed Mother up to Spain's number six spot for the week ending February 3. During this period, the film racked up a screen average of $4,107 and a 94% rise in ticket sales over the previous week.

Also performing strongly is the Lolafilms production Second Skin (Segunda Piel), starring a troika of popular young actors Javier Bardem, Jordi Molla and Ariadna Gil. In its first week, Skin broke into the box office at number three, moving up to second position in its second week. The film dropped to number five in its third week (Jan 28-Feb 3), but is holding strong with a screen average of $3,989 on the same 100 screens on which it opened.

Other local pictures demonstrating their staying power include: Butterfly's Tongue (La Lengua De Las Mariposas), which is hanging on to the number 13 spot after 19 weeks; Nobody Knows Anybody (Nadie Conoce A Nadie), at number 12 after 10 weeks; and By My Side Again (Cuando Vuelvas A Mi Lado), at number 19 after 17 weeks.