Distributor Filmax is looking to benefit from the multipleOscar wins of Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby. The film has alreadybeen seen by more than 1 million spectators in Spain, where it had earned Euros6.5m pre-Oscars after its fourth weekend, making it the highest-grossing ofEastwood's recent films to premiere in Spain. It was also earning one of thehighest per-screen averages, Euros 6,113, of all films currently on release.

Filmax announced it would increase the number of screens forthe film to at least 200 following the Oscar night success. Million Dollar Babyis a high-profile release for Filmax, which ranked second among independentdistributors in Spain last year behind Aurum, and seventh among alldistributors.

It marks the first Eastwood-directed film since 1996's AbsolutePower to be distributed in Spain by a company other than Warner Bros.

Last five Clint Eastwood-directed films in Spain

Mystic River - Warner 2003 - Euros 6.3m
Blood Work - Warner 2002 - Euros 1.1m
Space Cowboys - Warner 2000 - Euros 2.5m
True Crime - Warner 1998 - Euros 2.4m
Midnight In The Garden Of Good & Evil - Warner 1997 - Euros 999,569