Los Angeles-based Gaumont USA has optioned the audiovisual rights to “Opus,” financial journalist Gareth Gore’s explosive exposé of Opus Dei, which stemmed from the sudden 2017 collapse of Spain’s Popular Bank, one of the country’s largest banks. The collapse of Spain’s Banco Popular, one of the country’s largest banks, is what Gore calls “one of the largest bank failures ever seen in Europe.”
The deal was signed by the media rights team of Gaumont USA and Gore’s agent, Curtis Brown.
Banco Popular, considered one of Europe’s most profitable financial institutions, was sold to Banco Santander for a symbolic amount of 1 euro ($1.2), Gaumont USA noted.
Gore, who was sent to report on the collapse of Banco Popular, thought it was a common example of “unchecked ambition and poor decision-making.” But the more I dug, the more I realized that “a big piece of the puzzle was missing.”
Those works are included in Gore’s “Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right-Wing Conspiracy Within the Catholic Church,” published in hardcover and paper in English by Simon & Schuster and in Spanish by Critica in 2025.
Gaumont USA said in a statement Wednesday that Banco Popular was “allegedly used for more than just a bank for decades.” “For decades, under the control of a group of single men who controlled the bank and had pledged allegiance to the powerful and often controversial Catholic organization Opus Dei, the bank gradually became a cash machine for Opus Dei, which used its financial power to expand its social influence and political influence, first in Spain and later around the world.”
Gore’s book, Opus, reveals how recent, surprising, and profoundly influential that power is, including in the United States.
Gaumont USA added that it aims to develop “Opus” as a “compelling story that lifts the veil from the opaque corridors where religion, money and politics converge.”
“‘Opus’ is more than just a financial story. It’s a story about influence and accountability,” said Nicholas Atran, president of Gaumont USA. “Gareth’s reporting is rigorous, layered and highly cinematic. It exposes a system that operated visibly but with little scrutiny, and the tensions make it so relevant to audiences around the world today.”
“This book reads like a political thriller, but every twist is based on meticulous investigative work. The intersection of faith, money, and politics is a natural, It creates high dramatic stakes, complex characters, and moral ambiguity. This is exactly the kind of true story that captivates audiences because it questions how power is constructed, protected, and ultimately revealed.”
Gore added: “I can’t wait to get started on bringing this incredible story to the screen.” “Writing a report on this book was like entering a surreal parallel world where nothing is quite what it seems, and I’m excited to share that world with a wider audience. I’m really excited to be working with one of the best teams in the industry, the team that has brought us award-winning series like Narcos and Lupine.”
Gaumont USA noted that this project continues the company’s strategy of securing intellectual property that resonates both locally and globally.
That intellectual property could be internal, sourcing Gaumont’s film and television library and adapting it for Mexico, Spain and Brazil, or it could be external, using a third party’s existing intellectual property to adapt books and stories inspired by real events and real people, Gabera told Variety just before October’s Ibeseries & Platino Industria in Madrid.
The makeover of the Opus is targeted specifically at the Spanish market. However, Opus Dei’s dramatic expansion around the world has given it broader relevance.
Christian Gabela, Gaumont, USA
