for French cinema, a year “with fanfare”

Saccording to projections from the National Cinema Center (CNC), the market share of French cinema, in relation to the total number of admissions to cinemas, should reach 45% this year: almost half of the films that went to see the spectators in 2024 were French productions. We have to go back to 2011 or 2008 to find a similar performance, but in both cases, it was due to the tidal wave of two locomotives, “Intouchables” in 2011, “Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis”, in 2008.

1. From Artus to Emilia Perez, a multiple poster

In 2024, the success of “made in France” cinema is more multifaceted, it can be seen at several levels of the box office. At the top first: 10.8 million entries for “A little thing in addition”, 9.4 million for “The Count of Monte Cristo”, 4.7 million for “L’Amour ouf”. Other successes of 2024: “Monsieur Aznavour” (2 million admissions) “Ducobu goes green” (one million), “Emilia Perez” (1.1 million admissions)… Then a farandole of films with a more limited budget , considered nuggets of auteur cinema: “En fanfare” (1.3 million), “When Autumn Comes” (700,000 admissions), “The Story of Souleymane” (550,000), “The Second Act” (500,000), “Golo and Ritchie” (450,000), “The Most Precious of Goods” (450,000), “The Romance of Jim” (400,000)… Firsts Unique works have also found their audience. 200,000 spectators for “Vingt Dieux”, 160,000 for “Les Fantômes” by Jonathan Millet, 150,000 for “The Kingdom”…

This vitality confirms the solidity of the unique system of financing the seventh art in our country.

“What is striking is the eclecticism of French cinema’s offerings, which tick all the boxes in terms of genres and target audiences: the costume film (“Monte-Cristo”, Editor’s note), the generational feature film (“L’Amour ouf”), the musical (“Emilia Perez”), the animated film (“La Plus Précieuse…”), the social comedy (“Un p’tit truc en plus”, “En fanfare »…) This is the richness of this fabric which makes it possible to achieve strong overall attendance, while the American offering is largely focused on blockbusters,” analyzes Olivier Henrard, interim president of the CNC.

This vitality confirms the solidity of the unique system of financing the seventh art in our country. A model built on two cornerstones. On the one hand, a form of redistribution, since the tax levied by the CNC on each entry (10% of the ticket price) irrigates the entire sector: thus the big successes finance the “small” films. On the other hand, co-financing of fiction, set by legal obligations, by television channels and streaming platforms.

2. “A search for intensity and originality”

Dimitri Rassam, producer of “The Count of Monte Cristo”, detects a lesson in this 2024 box office: “A public appetite for proposals that are not only original, but born from real risk-taking. Le bet d’Artus, a comedy about disability, a first film at that, seemed quite crazy. Moreover, he struggled to find funding. ”Emilia Perez”, a transgender musical filmed in Spanish, is also very daring. » He does not cite himself as an example, but the adaptation of a classic by Alexandre Dumas, already often transposed to the screen, aroused a lot of skepticism.

“The public senses when projects are driven by real sincerity, like Gilles Lellouche’s “L’Amour ouf.” And at a time when there are so many leisure options, people are looking for a certain intensity when they come to the theater,” believes the producer. “In an ocean of images, in a deluge of undifferentiated content, it is the original works that float, which capture the attention,” adds Olivier Henrard.

3. A global exception

45% market share for French cinema: which other country in the world resists American cinema so well? None in Europe. The market share of Italian cinema? 25%. English cinema? Barely 10%.

China and India cannot be compared to France, because these two markets are very closed. Only in the Western world is South Korea, with its very dynamic cultural sector, doing as well as France: the market share of South Korean films is close to 50%.

Top 10

Here are the ten films that attracted the most spectators in 2024: “A Little Something Extra” (10.8 million), “The Count of Monte Cristo” (9.4), “Vice-Versa 2” (8.5), “Moana 2 (5.7), “Phew Love” (4.7), “Despicable Me 4” (4.5), “Dune, Part Two” (4.2 ), “Deadpool and Wolverine » (3.7), “Gladiator 2” (2.7), “Planet of the Apes” (2.4).