The international box office for French cinema fell by 11% in 2024, according to data released by Unifrance on Monday, but the film and TV export agency said the numbers only provide part of the picture.
French film productions generated 33.4 million admissions internationally in the first 50 weeks of 2024, for a total of 222.8 million euros ($227.09 million), Unifrance said. The authority gave a preliminary full-year forecast of 38 million admissions for 250 million euros ($254 million) in revenue, which it said corresponds to an 11% decline compared to 2023.
The best performing French film in international markets was The Count of Monte Cristowhich generated 3.3 million admissions for a total of €20.7 million ($21.2). It was followed in the charts by four films that began their international careers in 2023: Anatomy of a fall, Autumn and black jaguar, Taste of things and Jungle Collection 2: World Tour.
2024 New entrants in the top ten internationally included a surprise domestic breakthrough A little something elsewhich attracted nearly one million viewers internationally after topping BO at home, followed by comedy Oh no no With 800,000 tickets sold; Cat and dog – the great crossing With 600,000 entries and Maria MontessorI’m with 400,000 entries.
Germany was the top region for French films, with 4.1 million viewers, representing 12.3% of the total; followed by Russian with 3.7 million acceptances (11%); Mexico 2.6 million (7.7%), Belgium and Luxembourg 2.1 million (6.3%), Poland and Italy 2 million each (6%); Spain with 1.7 million (5%), China and English-speaking North America with 1.5 million each (4.6%) and Switzerland with 1 million (3.4%).
Unifrance’s Director of Cinema, Gilles Renouard, presented the report at Unifrance’s 5th Export Day, bringing together film and TV executives to discuss the challenges of exporting French films and TV shows around the world.
The event is traditionally held on the eve of Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous in Paris which kicks off today and is described as the market’s largest event focusing on French content outside of Cannes.
Analyzing the numbers, Renouard said the decline in admissions and revenues should be viewed in the context of a weak global box office in 2024.
He added: “These numbers are in line with the trend in global markets, which fell by 9% on average by mid-December, even if the domestic box office in France bucked this trend,” referring to the fact that France was one of the countries The most affected in the world. Only regions where box office was stronger in 2024.
He said one of the major obstacles facing BO Global was the absence of major American films in the first part of the year in the immediate aftermath of the Hollywood attacks.
“Contrary to widely held belief, this has not helped other types of cinema, because without big American films, people have fallen out of the habit of going to the cinema,” he said.
Another headwind has been changing viewing habits, with viewer types open to French productions increasingly consuming these works on platforms.
He pointed to the example of last year’s animated film The miracle movie (The Awakening of Ladybug and Cat Noir) directed by Jeremy Zaag, which was France’s biggest box office hit internationally, attracting 7.5 million spectators.
“The film was released directly on Netflix in the US this year Emily Perez“Which means spectators are missing from the theaters and final figures,” Renouard said, referring to the Cannes Jury Prize winner and Golden Globe winner who is a front-runner for the upcoming Oscars.
Netflix, which acquired North American and UK rights during Cannes, gave the film a limited theatrical release in the US and Canada on November 1, before an online release on November 13.
Similarly, The Count of Monte Cristo – which was the most successful French film at the international box office in 2024, with 3.3 million views and a total of €20.7 million – went directly to television in Italy, where it was broadcast as a special cinema event on 26 and 27 December by Canale5.
It will also only be released on January 23, 2025 in Germany, which was France’s largest export market in 2024. Back home, the lavish adventure-and-revenge tale came in second on the BO’s 2024 chart with a gross of around €66.1 million ($68 million ).
Renouard was joined on stage by sales heads Rami Nahhas at mainstream film company SND and Agatha Morocco at powerhouse Pyramide International.
Like Renoir, Copper was optimistic about the long term, pointing to the relative health of France’s domestic box office, in the face of declining numbers worldwide, as well as the success of domestic films in 2024.
“We gained one million spectators in 2024… which is mainly due to the strength of our local cinema,” Nahhas said, noting that this strength will feed the international market next year.
Moroc said there has been a growing appetite for arthouse film sales over the past two years, even if that has not yet translated into strong returns at the international box office.
She added: “On the positive side, there is appetite and desire, and the results we are seeing in France should stimulate things in the long term.”
She noted that a healthy domestic box office runs for independent films such as Vengeet Dukes and The story of Solomonwhich grossed $4.4 million and $3.7 million respectively, were closely followed by buyers.
Both Nahhas and Moroc welcomed the return of Germany as a major market for French cinema.
“Two or three years ago it was very difficult to sell films to Germany, but now it has become dynamic,” says Morok.
However, Nahas noted that Asia has become more complex, with animation continuing to do well, while French art shows in the region have suffered.
“Vietnam was the fourth largest export region for our film Jungle Collection 2: World Tour But it remains more difficult for festival-based titles aimed at older viewers that have not yet returned to theaters.
“In Japan, for example, which has always been an important market for France, our sales are becoming less and less, and the films are performing less and less… We will see how this region develops.”
Beyond the box office, Unifrance also looked at the performance of French film productions at the top 10 film festivals: BAFICI, Berlinale, Busan, Cannes, Locarno, Rotterdam, San Sebastián, Sundance, Toronto and Venice.
She pointed out that France was the first country in terms of participation in these festivals, as it screened 253 films, representing 22.8% of the selections of these festivals.
“France is first everywhere except for two events in North America, where the United Kingdom came out on top at Sundance and the United States topped the selection in Toronto,” the report noted.
Unifrance also tried to measure the presence of French productions on international streaming platforms, looking at the number of titles available on platforms outside the home market, rather than viewing figures that are rarely available.
The report said that France came in fifth place in terms of the number of its works available on global broadcast platforms in 2024, representing 3.8% of the total display, and in third place for non-English language productions globally.
