With 15.53 million spectators, the month of October 2024 stands out from previous years heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
A first since the Covid-19 pandemic. French cinema has broken records with the releases of Phew Love and of Mr Aznavour . In total, nearly 15.53 million spectators passed through the doors of cinemas in October, making it the 10e the most prolific month of a calendar year since 2020. According to figures published by the National Cinema Center (CNN) on Monday, November 4, attendance would have seen a jump of 10.8% over one year, enough to make us forget the hole air left at the start of the year by the writers’ and actors’ strike in Hollywood.
Because the first months of 2024 foreshadowed the worst. From January to October, 143.21 million tickets were sold, a decrease of 3.2% from the previous year. But this accumulated delay is gradually disappearing, in particular thanks to French productions which represent 45% of admissions and which are considerably increasing theater attendance.
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3 million entries for Phew Love
Carried by Artus’ film A little something extra (10.7 million admissions), biggest success of the year 2024, and The Count of Monte Cristo (9.2 million admissions), cinema can thank films “made in France”. In October, it’s good Phew Love by Gilles Lellouche, with François Civil and Adèle Exarchopoulos, which has increased the scores with more than 3 million entries since its release. Followed by Mr Aznavourthe biopic of the iconic singer played by Tahar Rahim, with nearly 1 million admissions in one week.
These true “French-style” successes are attracting more and more, in particular younger spectators, who have mostly stayed away from cinemas since the arrival of streaming platforms. Phew Love embodies this rebirth. With its tortured love story between two passionate teenagers, it boosts attendance among 15-24 year olds (29% of admissions). Enough to give hope. What if French cinema, after the black page of Covid-19, finally managed to bring together all French people in theaters.
