In 2023, how is the 7th art doing? Like every year, the National Center for Cinema and Animated Images (CNC) publishes an activity report. Last year, cinema finally emerged from a period of crisis caused largely by the pandemic. Feature-length and short films, broadcasts of operas, shows and conferences enabled cinema box offices to generate more than 1.3 billion euros in 2023 – an increase of 21.8% compared to the year. former.
However, the attendance figures must be put into perspective: they do not reach the level before confinement. Cinemas recorded 180.4 million admissions in 2023, with an average of nearly three seats purchased per inhabitant. Overall theater attendance increased by 18.6% compared to the previous year. But it is 13.3% lower than that recorded during the 2017-2019 period.
Increase in films and revenues
Although nuanced, this progression lifts France to first place on the European podium, ahead of neighbors who are still struggling to get by. In the United Kingdom, for example, cinemas recorded a drop in admissions of 29.2% compared to the 2017-2019 average. Spanish and Italian cinemas recorded a decrease of 24% and 23.2% respectively.
In France, the number of films offered in cinemas has exceeded its pre-Covid-19 level. There were 9,301 in 2023, compared to, on average, 8,101 each year between 2017 and 2019. Concerning feature films broadcast in 2023, it was again American films which recorded the most admissions (74.1 million) , with a record for Super Mario Bros, the movie and its 7.25 million tickets sold. Overall, they are ahead of French films (70.6 million), marked by the first position ofAsterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom and its 4.65 million entries.
