Nicolás López(III)
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Chilean writer-director-producer behind a run of independently developed comedy and genre hits, whose body of work has generated approximately $85 million worldwide at the theatrical box office.
His films have screened at major international festivals including SXSW, the Tokyo International Film Festival, Sundance, the Toronto International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, Sitges and the Mar del Plata International Film Festival. His work has also drawn praise from filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Santiago Segura. His comedy IP has expanded into more than 12 official adaptations across seven territories, including Italy, Spain and Mexico.
López began his career at 17 as associate producer of the horror film Ángel Negro (2000), followed by co-producing and co-writing the animated comedy Cesante (2002), before making his breakout debut as writer-director with the teen comedy Promedio Rojo (2004). The film became a local box office hit in Chile and screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival, SXSW and the Los Angeles Film Festival. Quentin Tarantino famously called it "the funniest movie of the year."
He followed with the sci-fi superhero comedy Santos (2008), a Chile-Spain co-production with Telecinco Cinema, which won the Special Jury Prize at Fantastic Fest and was praised by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
He went on to co-write and direct the dark romantic comedy trilogy Qué pena - Qué pena tu vida (2010), Qué pena tu boda (2011) and Qué pena tu familia (2012). The trilogy surpassed 500,000 admissions in Chile and later expanded into Mexico with Qué pena tu vida (2016) and En las buenas y en las malas (2018), with the franchise grossing over $7 million worldwide at the theatrical box office.
López then expanded into international genre filmmaking, directing, co-writing and producing the disaster thriller Aftershock (2012), which premiered in the Midnight Madness section at the Toronto International Film Festival and was released by Dimension Films. He subsequently co-wrote and produced The Green Inferno (2013) and Knock Knock (2015), both directed by Eli Roth. The Green Inferno was released by Universal Pictures / Blumhouse, while Knock Knock, starring Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas, premiered at Sundance and was released by Lionsgate.
He also executive produced the vampire thriller The Stranger (2014) and the horror feature The Inhabitant (2022), both directed by Guillermo Amoedo. In 2014 and 2015, he co-wrote and co-produced the Chilean action-comedy franchise Fuerzas Especiales and Fuerzas Especiales 2, which together surpassed 400,000 admissions in Chile. He later served as co-producer on Madre (2016), a thriller directed by Aaron Burns.
In 2016, López directed Sin Filtro, the most independently produced film of his career, which became the highest-grossing Chilean film of its decade with 1.3 million admissions. The property expanded into a major international remake franchise with adaptations in Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Panama, Peru, Italy and Brazil, surpassing $20 million in international box office revenue.
He followed with Hazlo como hombre (2017), which grossed $13.6 million worldwide, became the highest-grossing Mexican film of its year with more than 4.2 million admissions, and ranks as the fifth highest-grossing Mexican film of all time. The IP later generated remakes in Chile and Peru.
As co-producer, he backed Ya Veremos (2018), which grossed $14.1 million worldwide and became Mexico’s top-grossing film of the year. That same year, he directed and co-wrote No estoy loca (2018), the most-watched Chilean film of its year with 590,000 admissions, later adapted in Mexico as Me vuelves loca (2022), starring Aislinn Derbez. He subsequently directed and co-wrote Dulce Familia (2019), which grossed $5.7 million and was adapted in Brazil as Doce Família (2024).
In 2025, the Brazilian remake of Sin Filtro, Uma Mulher Sem Filtro, premiered on Netflix and debuted at No. 2 on Brazil’s national ranking. That same year, López premiered in Mexican theaters as associate producer the horror thriller Tormento (BH5 / Videocine).
In Chile, the 2025 Cadem national survey ranking the best films of the past decade placed Sin Filtro third and No estoy loca fifth.
His films have screened at major international festivals including SXSW, the Tokyo International Film Festival, Sundance, the Toronto International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, Sitges and the Mar del Plata International Film Festival. His work has also drawn praise from filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Santiago Segura. His comedy IP has expanded into more than 12 official adaptations across seven territories, including Italy, Spain and Mexico.
López began his career at 17 as associate producer of the horror film Ángel Negro (2000), followed by co-producing and co-writing the animated comedy Cesante (2002), before making his breakout debut as writer-director with the teen comedy Promedio Rojo (2004). The film became a local box office hit in Chile and screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival, SXSW and the Los Angeles Film Festival. Quentin Tarantino famously called it "the funniest movie of the year."
He followed with the sci-fi superhero comedy Santos (2008), a Chile-Spain co-production with Telecinco Cinema, which won the Special Jury Prize at Fantastic Fest and was praised by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
He went on to co-write and direct the dark romantic comedy trilogy Qué pena - Qué pena tu vida (2010), Qué pena tu boda (2011) and Qué pena tu familia (2012). The trilogy surpassed 500,000 admissions in Chile and later expanded into Mexico with Qué pena tu vida (2016) and En las buenas y en las malas (2018), with the franchise grossing over $7 million worldwide at the theatrical box office.
López then expanded into international genre filmmaking, directing, co-writing and producing the disaster thriller Aftershock (2012), which premiered in the Midnight Madness section at the Toronto International Film Festival and was released by Dimension Films. He subsequently co-wrote and produced The Green Inferno (2013) and Knock Knock (2015), both directed by Eli Roth. The Green Inferno was released by Universal Pictures / Blumhouse, while Knock Knock, starring Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas, premiered at Sundance and was released by Lionsgate.
He also executive produced the vampire thriller The Stranger (2014) and the horror feature The Inhabitant (2022), both directed by Guillermo Amoedo. In 2014 and 2015, he co-wrote and co-produced the Chilean action-comedy franchise Fuerzas Especiales and Fuerzas Especiales 2, which together surpassed 400,000 admissions in Chile. He later served as co-producer on Madre (2016), a thriller directed by Aaron Burns.
In 2016, López directed Sin Filtro, the most independently produced film of his career, which became the highest-grossing Chilean film of its decade with 1.3 million admissions. The property expanded into a major international remake franchise with adaptations in Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Panama, Peru, Italy and Brazil, surpassing $20 million in international box office revenue.
He followed with Hazlo como hombre (2017), which grossed $13.6 million worldwide, became the highest-grossing Mexican film of its year with more than 4.2 million admissions, and ranks as the fifth highest-grossing Mexican film of all time. The IP later generated remakes in Chile and Peru.
As co-producer, he backed Ya Veremos (2018), which grossed $14.1 million worldwide and became Mexico’s top-grossing film of the year. That same year, he directed and co-wrote No estoy loca (2018), the most-watched Chilean film of its year with 590,000 admissions, later adapted in Mexico as Me vuelves loca (2022), starring Aislinn Derbez. He subsequently directed and co-wrote Dulce Familia (2019), which grossed $5.7 million and was adapted in Brazil as Doce Família (2024).
In 2025, the Brazilian remake of Sin Filtro, Uma Mulher Sem Filtro, premiered on Netflix and debuted at No. 2 on Brazil’s national ranking. That same year, López premiered in Mexican theaters as associate producer the horror thriller Tormento (BH5 / Videocine).
In Chile, the 2025 Cadem national survey ranking the best films of the past decade placed Sin Filtro third and No estoy loca fifth.
