Horror film El orfanato debuts in U.S.

The Spanish-language horror flick El orfanato ("The Orphanage") had a modest debut in U.S. cheaters over the weekend, grossing $230,000 in limited release. Its distribution expands from six cities to nine this coming weekend before it expands to art houses in most major metropolitan areas on Jan. 11.

Directed by first-time director Juan Antonio Bayona, the film tells the story of a family that moves into an old mansion where they boy starts having imaginary friends — or are they for real?

In his positive review, About.com's Jürgen Fauth calls this "an incredibly spooky ghost story," adding that "The Orphanage had me by the throat for 100 minutes."

The distributors of this film are obviously going after the same crowd that helped make Pan's Labyrinth the biggest foreign-language film in recent years in the U.S. It is billed as being "presented" by Guillermo del Toro, who produced Pan's Labyrinth, although it's unclear if he had any real role in the developing the film.

Expect to hear more about this film in coming weeks, as it has been selected as Spain's nomination for the best foreign-language Oscar.

You can learn more about the film from its official sites in Spanish or English