Investigation. The “little extra thing” of French cinema

They literally have success in their skin. Directors Alexandre de La Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte, producer Dimitri Rassam and actor Patrick Mille all ended up honoring their bet, launched as a joke in June, upon the release of their film Le Comte de Monte Cristo  : « If it exceeds 5 million entries, we all get tattoos! » Six months and more than 9 million entries later, the happy filmmakers, in a sort of pact of the musketeers, have all gone through the needles: under the epidermis of Dimitri Rassam appear the three letters of their discussion group, “MAD” (for Matthieu, Alexandre and Dimitri) and on the biceps of Patrick Mille, the emblematic ship of Captain Danglars, his role as a venomous villain in the film.

If they were all keen to keep an indelible trace of it, it is because the success of Monte-Cristo is exceptional. Hoping at best to match the good figures of the two parts of their Musketeers (3.4 million for the first, 2.5 for the second), they finally rose to the rank of “blockbuster”, a category usually “reserved” for Americans.

Patrick Mille: “Playing antagonism is enjoyable”

And they’re not the only ones in the box office skies: A little something extrad’Artus, this comedy which laughs with the disabled – and not at them -, prances in the lead with 10.8 million admissions (becoming the third biggest French success afterUntouchables and Welcome to the Ch’tis ) et Love phew by Gilles Lellouche, a generational romance about thwarted teenage emotions, closes the top three with 4.3 million tickets sold.

L’Amour ouf sold 4.3 million cinema tickets. (Credits: LTD/Cédric Bertrand)

Posted at the exit of cinemas, the “gang” of Monte-Cristo saw the craze rise live (read the box on page 26). «What happened goes beyond the number of entries, believes Dimitri Rassam. It’s wonderful to experience this quality of appropriation of the film by the public. We allowed ourselves to make more daring bets, to go further into the creative “risks” of Monte Cristo: a film of three hours, the feelings of which we have not watered down: there is real revenge, drama and romance.» A strong proposition, capable of moving audiences into theaters and competing with the attractiveness of platforms.

New genres

Same surprise for Artus, still amazed by this phenomenal success in May, when he had suffered refusals from the producers. According to him, this uninhibited feel-good movie was coming “ at the right time, the times are so stressful » .And what can we say about Gilles Lellouche and his phew lovepopular with young people but also with their elders, nostalgic for the 1990s? However, the film was freshly received by critics at the Cannes Film Festival.

« But a producer of the Twilight saga told us that, on the contrary, our film was going to cause an explosion among young people, remembers Hugo Sélignac, co-producer of the film with Alain Attal. We have therefore refocused our promotion on the networks . » A universal subject on first loves, a romantic breath and a transgenerational five-star cast (from Mallory Wanecque to Alain Chabat, from Adèle Exarchopoulos to Benoît Poelvoorde via Élodie Bouchez, François Civil, Raphaël Quenard…) completed to convince all audiences.

Pierre Niney: “I wouldn’t trade my life for anything in the world”

Same phenomenon for Their children after them released in early December. “Young people tell us “in fact, our parents’ youth was cool”, testifies Alain Attal. They reconnected with the 1990s, which in retrospect appear rosier compared to the chaos in which our era is plunged.» A phenomenon which also owes a lot to the Culture Pass (a system of access to cultural activities intended for 15-18 year olds), implemented throughout France in 2022.

But not only that: the audacity of certain films allows producers to explore new genres that appeal: “In our joint collection, at Chi-Fou-Mi Productions and Trésor Films, we like projects that are a bit kamikaze, continues Alain Attal. The filmmakers send us an ambition, a delirium, and we like it, this slightly crazy, impossible and unprecedented challenge! That’s how we made our first… “submarine film” in 2019, Le Chant du loup. »

We can talk about French blockbusters

French cinema is therefore capable of outpacing American cinema: French films represent, in 2024, a 46% market share compared to 34.2% for American films. “ We can talk about French-style blockbusters, even if it is difficult to explain such successes and even more so to anticipate because cinema is an economy of prototypes, believes Olivier Henrard, interim president of the CNC. However, the year 2024 got off to a bad start due to the withdrawal of American films following the strike in Hollywood. But we are the country in the world that has recovered best from the Covid crisis and the largest market in Europe, by far: 35% above the United Kingdom. »

The Count of Monte-Cristo 9.3 million places. (Credits: LTD/Jérôme Prebois/Pathe/Fargo films/M6 films/ Chapter 2)

The United States is experiencing the opposite movement. “ Their blockbusters are not always box office winners, notes Elsa Keslassy, ​​international editor-in-chief of Variety magazine. Hollywood produces a lot of prequels and sequels, while audiences favor original content. They are lagging behind while the industries of other countries, especially in France, have strengthened. »

American independent productions are becoming rarer: their favorite directors are now employed to produce mainstream blockbusters, like Greta Gerwig with Barbie and soon The Chronicles of Narnia … And more and more others are working in Europe: Jim Jarmusch and Kristen Stewart have just filmed in Europe, where the next projects by Francis Ford Coppola and James Gray will also be made. “Jodie Foster is filming with Rebecca Zlotowski and Angelina Jolie will be in Alice Winocour’s next film” , adds Elsa Keslassy.

Streaming platforms finance more French cinema

“Great public appetite”

In France, the good health of films exceeds the top three. “We tick all the boxes: low-budget and “middle-class” arthouse films [d’auteur] and productions aimed at the general public » , continues Olivier Henrard. The number of admissions for “genre” films speaks for itself: 2 million for Mr Aznavourby Mehdi Idir and Grand Corps Malade, more than 1 million for Emilia Perez by Jacques Audiard (who will represent the country at the Oscars and has ten Golden Globe nominations); 700,000 for When autumn comes of François Ozon ; 600,000 for The Story of Souleymane by Boris Lojkine; 430,000 for Golo & Ritchie…Not to mention the huge start-up ofA fanfare(700,000 in two weeks) from Emmanuel Courcol, the 130,000 tickets fromKingdomby Julien Colonna, the 480,000 ofThe Substanceby Coralie Fargeat or the 313,000 entries from the animated film by Michel Hazanavicius,The Most Precious of Goods .

Jacques Audiard is the most daring of current French authors.

France therefore serves more than ever as a village of diehard Gauls. “We have a strong system combined with great public appetite, explains NT Binh, film critic at Positif magazine. Almost every ten years, it is said that cinema in theaters will die, threatened by television, platforms… But our system works, it is the “French cultural exception” [lire colonne ci-contre]. »

The good French results are also based on the creativity and audacity of filmmakers: “What made the difference was that the occasional spectators all came, continues NT Binh. We saw him for Un p’tit truc en plus, a successful “feel-good movie” which deals with a serious subject without a depressing or conventional outlook. For Monte Cristo, people wanted imagination. The Story of Souleymane is a militant film without being preachy, with suspense and moving at the end. As for Emilia Pérez… Jacques Audiard is the most daring of current French authors. »

The Court of Auditors calls for reform of aid to French cinema “which continues to grow”

The producer ofSouleymaneBruno Nahon, nevertheless struggled to produce the film: “I prefer not to know why the terrestrial channels and the Regions did not support us, he says. I remember that there is no “repellent” subject and that it is fundamental to be a contemporary producer, to treat a complex and powerful story with a real “genre”. The “thriller” distinguishes Souleymane from other so-called “social” films. We have not given in to any siren: neither in casting, nor in story, nor in narrative facilities, nor even in music, which is absent from the film.»

This radicalism and sincerity appeal to the public, even in the face of foreign blockbusters. With the release ofWhen autumn comesscheduled for the same day as that ofJoker – Folie à deuxwith Joaquin Phoenix, François Ozon was not reassured. And yet: “This success reminded me of that of Sous le sable twenty years ago, the director says. There was very strong identification from the public, including many women aged 50-70. We decided to orient the trailer towards the “thriller” side because people have so many choices on platforms that we have to offer original stories. The most formatted productions are not the ones that attract the most and it is very encouraging that the “middle films”, which are demanding art films made with little budget, are reaching the public again.» It’s certain, French cinema definitely has a little something extra.