Modest initial results accompanied by encouraging signs of improvement for French films in foreign markets in 2014, with standout performances by titles with strong international potential.
| Rank | Title | Admissions | Box Office | No. of Prints | No. of Countries | Total Admissions |
| 1 | Belle and Sébastien | 538,449 | 3,600,466 | 605 | 6 | 693,133 |
| 2 | Blue is the Warmest Color | 198,156 | 1,249,062 | 235 | 13 | 1,376,492 |
| 3 | The Past | 167,146 | 1,164,818 | 225 | 12 | 418,647 |
| 4 | Il était une forêt | 93,878 | 753,253 | 171 | 5 | 106,646 |
| 5 | Cycling with Moliere | 82,501 | 477,778 | 46 | 1 | 250,800 |
| 6 | Angélique | 76,102 | 458,510 | 363 | 4 | 83,764 |
| 7 | The Family | 74,484 | 276,577 | 365 | 7 | 8,493,036 |
| 8 | Turning Tide | 73,771 | 471,416 | 163 | 2 | 196,213 |
| 9 | Yves Saint Laurent | 67,365 | 584,501 | 39 | 2 | 67,365 |
| 10 | Me, Myself and Mum | 60,078 | 437,339 | 61 | 3 | 160,295 |
| 11 | On the Way to School | 54,706 | 394,840 | 116 | 6 | 253,079 |
| 12 | Land of the Bears | 51,345 | 324,144 | 78 | 1 | 51,345 |
| 13 | Jamais le premier soir | 37,655 | 345,794 | 26 | 2 | 37,655 |
| 14 | Mood Indigo | 35,751 | 92,805 | 38 | 2 | 504,370 |
| 15 | Venus in Fur | 31,077 | 187,487 | 98 | 9 | 460,716 |
| 16 | Chinese Puzzle | 26,613 | 247,320 | 29 | 2 | 87,580 |
| 17 | Paulette | 20,961 | 96,252 | 55 | 4 | 792,872 |
| 18 | Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants | 20,816 | 142,790 | 67 | 3 | 32,199 |
| 19 | On My Way | 20,364 | 98,121 | 4 | 2 | 146,280 |
| 20 | Suzanne | 19,148 | 149,389 | 28 | 4 | 20,907 |
 |  |  |
French films have started off the year with relatively limited results in international theaters in comparison with recent years, with 3.2 million admissions registered across 27 territories. Rankings for the month of January 2014 show encouraging performances by titles such as Belle and Sébastien, as well as the continued success of a number of titles released last year (Blue is the Warmest Color, The Past, The Family). Three majority French productions topped 100,000 spectators in January: Belle and Sébastien (700,000 admissions all included), The Past (420,000 all included), and Blue is the Warmest Color (1.4 million all included). French-language productions account for 62% of total admissions to French films, while French majority productions represent 63%, which is higher than in the same period last year.
French films have proved successful in Italy, where they clocked up close to 650,000 admissions in January, more than half of which are credited to Belle and Sébastien. French-language markets raise hopes for a comeback after lackluster results in 2013, with around 250,000 admissions registered in Belgium, thanks to excellent performances by titles such as Yves Saint Laurent and Jamais le premier soir, as well as a healthy 175,000 admissions in French-speaking Switzerland. French titles have also posted excellent results in Argentina, with 100,000 spectators registered in January, largely attributed to the success of The Family, as well as Blue is the Warmest Color and Just a Sigh.
In upcoming months, we will be able to closely monitor the highly anticipated release of titles such as Beauty and the Beast by Christophe Gans, a film that comes thirteen years after the international triumph of Gans’s previous hit Brotherhood of the Wolf (7.4 million admissions registered in 41 territories), and the animated film Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart, produced by EuropaCorp.
Spotlight on a selection of outstanding majority French films in January 2014
Belle and Sébastien has had a spectacular debut in Italy (Notorious), attracting over 400,000 spectators in its opening week. This success propelled it to 3rd place at the box office, outshining the performance of The Intouchables (Medusa, 370,000 admissions in its opening week and 2.5 million admissions at the end of its run). It looks set to top the million admissions mark in this territory, a feat that only three majority French productions have achieved since the early 2000s: The Intouchables (Medusa, 2.5 million admissions), Amelie (Bim Distribuzione, 1.5 million), and The Crimson Rivers (Filmauro, 1.2 million). Belle and Sébastien is holding firm with consistently good results in Belgium (Belga Films), where it has raked in just under 150,000 admissions in seven weeks, surpassing the score of The Volcano (Alternative Films, 145,000 admissions), which boasted the highest admissions for a French film in this market in 2013. In French-speaking Switzerland (Pathé Films AG), it has reached 60,000 admissions after ten weeks, thus outscoring Serial Teachers (Frenetic Films), which was the most successful French film of 2013 in this territory (53,000 admissions). Belle and Sébastien currently posts a total of 700,000 admissions outside France.
Blue is the Warmest Color continues its successful international run with notable performances in January, such as in Argentina (Distribution Company), where it registered 23,000 admissions in its opening week, matching the final score of another of the director’s films, The Secret of The Grain, which was released in 2009 (Zeta Films, 23,000 admissions) and ranks as Abdellatif Kechiche’s most successful film to date in this market. It enjoys consistently good results in South Korea (Pancinéma), pulling in around 35,000 admissions in three weeks. This has allowed the film to outdo the scores of previous hits Rust & Bone (Green Narae Media Co., Ltd., 31,000 admissions in 2013), The Kid With a Bike (T-cast, 24,000 admissions), Camille Rewinds (Atnine Film Co., 22,000), and Of Gods and Men (BaekDu DaeGan, 18,000). Released in Hong Kong (Edko Films) early January, Blue is the Warmest Color is estimated to have already attracted around 15,000 moviegoers. It has racked up 110,000 admissions in Brazil (Imovision), a significant achievement in this market considering that the controversial subject of the film and its R-rating discouraged the Brazilian cinema network Cinemark from distributing it. Blue is the Warmest Color is slated for release in upcoming weeks in Taïwan (Ifilm), Mexico (Mantarraya Producciones), and Australia (Transmission Films). The Palme d’Or winner at Cannes in 2013 has registered a total of 14 million admissions to date in international theaters.
Yves Saint Laurent has had an encouraging launch in two French-speaking markets. In Belgium (WW Entertainment (ex eOne Entertainment Benelux)), the biopic by Jalil Lespert is coming close to the 50,000 admissions mark after three weeks, while in French-speaking Switzerland (Pathé Films AG), it has topped 20,000 admissions after four weeks. It may be an interesting exercise to compare the international career of this film with that of Coco Before Chanel (5.6 million admissions abroad). Indeed, results for the latter film by Anne Fontaine were more than adequate in French-language European markets, with 76,000 admissions in Belgium (Kinepolis) and 25,000 in French-speaking Switzerland (Warner Bros. (Suisse)). However, it achieved particularly high scores in English-language markets, registering 873,000 admissions in the USA and English-speaking Canada (Sony), 515,000 admissions in the United Kingdom (STUDIOCANAL (UK)), and 253,000 in Australia (Village Roadshow Pictures). Asian markets were also won over by this encounter between the cinema and a luxury fashion icon, with 630,000 admissions registered in Japan (Warner Bros. (Japon)), 207,000 in South Korea (TU Media (SK Telecom)), 86,000 in Hong Kong (Lark Films), and 50,000 in Taïwan (CMC Magnetics). Even if the cast of Yves Saint Laurent does not include such recognizable international stars as Audrey Tautou, it has been widely sold around the world and can no doubt rely on the strong appeal of its subject to attract the interest of an increasing number of foreign markets.
Me, Myself and Mum by Guillaume Gallienne has got off to a promising start in Italy (Eagle Pictures), with more than 26,000 admissions to its credit from 46 prints, allowing it to break into the local Top 20. A film that created a sensation at last year’s Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes should maintain its momentum and easily reach 100,000 admissions by the end of its run. In French-speaking Switzerland (JMH Distributions SA), this debut film by actor Gallienne, is close to reaching 40,000 admissions after ten weeks, a notable performance in a market in which only seven French titles have registered more than 30,000 admissions since the beginning of 2013. Now coming to the end of its run in Belgium (Vertigo Films Distribution), it has registered just 65,000 admissions. It is due to hit theaters in upcoming weeks in Taïwan (Ifilm), Spain (A Contracorriente Films), the The Netherlands (Vertigo Films Distribution), Canada (Les Films Séville), and Israel (Nachshon Films). Me, Myself and Mum registered a total of 130,000 spectators abroad at the end of January.
Media Gallery
