Happy marriage between French films and their audiences!
Thanks to the triumph of recent releases, "Mariages!" (over 1 million admissions) and "Two Brothers" (2.7 million admissions), and to the continuing success of "Les Choristes" (close to 5 million admissions), French cinema has confirmed and extended the fine results of previous months (capturing 45% of the market since January).
Results for the month of April are highly encouraging for French films in the home market, and, unless we see a sudden reversal of the situation, the first 6 months of 2004 will be particularly satisfying. A significant proportion of these results can be credited to "Mariages!," the second feature by Valérie Guignabodet (after "Monique" in 2002). Starting out with 335 prints in circulation, the film produced by Philippe Godeau for Pan Européenne has already passed 1 million admissions in its second week. This is good news for StudioCanal, who will be presenting the film at the Cannes Film Market. And Mathilde Seigner, Jean Dujardin, Miou-Miou, Lio and Antoine Duléry have by no means finished drawing laughs from French audiences, with the film showing remarkable staying power, with attendance dropping by just 2% in its second week.
Jean-Jacques Annaud and his "Two Brothers" are also performing very well, ranking as 4th best film since the beginning of the year. A fine score for the film produced by Pathé Renn, which, launched on 780 prints in its opening week, is now coming close to the 2.8 million admissions mark. In its fourth week, the film also proved its staying power, with attendance falling by only 7%. These results bode well for the numerous foreign distributors who have acquired rights to the film from Pathé International.
Released in March, "Les Choristes," the debut film by Christophe Barratier, has continued its spectacular run. Gérard Jugnot and his young singers seem to have hit the mark, since, in its seventh week, attendance figures for the film are still on the rise, up by an impressive 11%! And its run is not over yet, with this film distributed in France by Pathé Distribution currently the number 1 film in France (including French and foreign productions) released since the beginning of the year. With its 4.5 million admissions in the month of April, it seems reasonable to predict that the film, produced by Jacques Perrin for Galatée Films, will break the 5 million admissions threshold in the days to come.
Another French film, although in another vein altogether, “Agents secrets” (“Secret Agents”) by Frédéric Schoendoerffer and sold by TF1 International, tackles the spy genre with success. The film has already attracted more than 820,000 spectators in four weeks, with its star couple, Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel, easily winning over local audiences.
Finally, among the other French films contributing to these good results in April, we can mention “Immortel” by Enki Bilal (TF1 International), which is coming close to 1 million admissions, and “Une vie à t’attendre,” by Thierry Klifa, produced by Denis Pineau-Valencienne and François Kraus for Les Films du Kiosque, which has passed 850,000 admissions. “Le Convoyeur,” a thriller by Nicolas Boukhrief sold by StudioCanal, looks set to reach 500,000 admissions. Not to mention “Viva Laldjerie” by Nadir Mokneche (Les Films du Losange) which, although geared toward a very specific target audience, has crossed the 150,000 admissions mark. And last but not least, “T’choupi,” an animated film by Jean-Luc François (Carrère Group), has pulled in more than 160,000 spectators.
TOP 5 FRENCH FILMS - FRANCE
JANUARY-APRIL 2004
Film | Released | No. of prints | Admissions | Box office (€m.) |
Les Choristes | March | 326 | 4,460,887 | 24.6 |
Podium* | February | 554 | 3,559,512 | 19.6 |
Les 11 commandements | February | 501 | 2,937,370 | 16.2 |
Two Brothers | March | 739 | 2,690,447 | 14.8 |
The Crimson Rivers 2 | February | 650 | 2,087,544 | 11.5 |
*Films still showing at the end of April, 2004 |