French cinema’s 2024 performance makes it unique in world

FRANCE WAS THE ONLY COUNTRY IN WHICH CINEMA ATTENDANCE INCREASED France is the only country in the world in which cinema attendance increased in 2024, with 181 million seats sold, new

figures show. It comes after France had also seen strong cinema-going figures in 2023. "France will be the only country in the world this year where more people have been to the cinema,

about a million more than last year,” said interim president of the CNC (Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée), Olivier Henrard, on December 31. “All the other European

countries plus the United States and South Korea will be well below 2023, bearing in mind that in 2023 France had already bounced back much more than all these countries.” NATIONAL CINEMA UP

The figures were further boosted by national cinema, rather than international releases. French films made up 44.4% of tickets sold, figures show.  “Apart from the United States, no other

country in the world comes close to this figure,” said Mr Henrard, adding that he believes that “French cinema knows how to do everything, in every genre, on every budget”.  French cinema

also benefited from the absence of American films which were hit hard by the writers’ strike in Hollywood at the start of the year. Read also: French people love cinema - and their tickets

fund new films  Of the top five films in France in 2024, three were French. They were: * Un p'tit truc en plus by Artus (10.8 million tickets sold)  * Le Comte de Monte-Cristo by

Alexandre de La Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte (9.3 million) * L'Amour Ouf by Gilles Lellouche (4.7 million). Other French-made films also made a splash, said Mr Henrard, including

Emilia Pérez by Jacques Audiard, and Vingt Dieux by Louise Courvoisier, which tells the story of a group of teenagers in the Jura region. COVID RECOVERY STILL ONGOING Yet, despite the strong

figures, cinema is still technically recovering from the Covid crisis, with French ticket sales still 12% lower than pre-pandemic years.  However, Mr Henrard believes that the industry is

on track for recovery next year. “If we have a 2025 with French films continuing on their trajectory, and American films making a comeback, we can hope to approach pre-Covid levels. 213

million tickets were sold in 2019,” he said. A ‘REVOLUTION’ DESPITE STREAMING He also said that the industry appeared healthy in France, with its “150,000 jobs (being) 13% more than before

the crisis”. Mr Henrard was also optimistic about French cinema overall, even despite the rise of streaming platforms. “Five years ago, we were saying that American platforms were going to

kill off French cinema. But on the contrary they are trying to carve out a place for themselves in French cinema,” he said. “It’s a form of revolution.”