Production notes

Actual Goya paintings were used in the film, except for those which were supposed to resemble Bardem and Portman. Close-ups of Goya's hands creating his paintings used an actual artist. Bardem said he first believed he should have been cast as Goya, but then realized Lorenzo was a "wonderful challenge because he embodies two entirely opposite behaviors." Skarsgard wore a fat suit at first but enjoyed the food so much he gained enough weight for the role later. When getting ready to cast Inés, Forman saw Portman on a magazine cover and noticed how much she looked like The Milkmaid of Bordeaux.

The film grossed $2,198,929 in Spain and $1,199,024 in Italy. In the United States, Goya's Ghosts grossed $1,000,626, with a worldwide total of $9,448,082.

Goya's Ghosts received poor reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 30% of 86 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Ornate costumes and a talented cast can't make up for Ghosts' glacial pace and confused plot." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 52 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.