The month of September saw French animated films shine on the international stage, while a EuropaCorp franchise returned to foreign theaters. At the same time, French cinema reaffirmed its strong position in 2015 in a number of Latin American markets.
This month, 4 French-majority productions attracted over 100,000 spectators in theaters outside France. The first of these accumulated over 4 million admissions in this period, while two animated films continued their successful international careers.
# | Title | Admissions | Box Office Revenues (€) | No. of Prints | No. of Countries | Total Admissions |
1 | The Transporter Legacy | 4,255,199 | 25,424,809 | 7,306 | 28 | 4,255,199 |
2 | The Little Prince | 1,516,031 | 5,226,718 | 1,119 | 8 | 3,176,780 |
3 | Amazonia | 444,589 | 2,102,818 | 3,400 | 1 | 824,342 |
4 | Mune | 115,286 | 587,443 | 457 | 5 | 1,547,020 |
5 | The Bélier Family | 60,680 | 354,387 | 106 | 11 | 3,323,081 |
6 | Love | 48 070 | 188,788 | 139 | 5 | 67,322 |
7 | Un moment d'égarement | 44 443 | 303,772 | 189 | 5 | 318,191 |
8 | Grace of Monaco | 42 264 | 133,472 | 101 | 1 | 3,410,447 |
9 | Serial (Bad) Weddings | 41 898 | 150,866 | 43 | 6 | 9,651,015 |
10 | Dheepan | 41,242 | 351,594 | 111 | 4 | 51,912 |
11 | French Women | 40,890 | 254,765 | 94 | 3 | 327,869 |
12 | Family for Rent | 33,438 | 282,257 | 54 | 3 | 81,713 |
13 | Marguerite | 30,477 | 224,190 | 80 | 3 | 30,477 |
14 | Diary of a Chambermaid | 17,644 | 54,654 | 40 | 2 | 81,098 |
15 | Standing Tall | 16,186 | 81,289 | 77 | 3 | 54,228 |
16 | The New Girlfriend | 14,861 | 105,001 | 46 | 3 | 334,943 |
17 | The Salt of the Earth | 14,329 | 83,879 | 34 | 6 | 1,337,435 |
18 | Profs 2 | 11,073 | 89,409 | 19 | 2 | 234,806 |
19 | Far From Men | 11,068 | 78,233 | 39 | 7 | 90,395 |
20 | Mustang | 10,227 | 81,961 | 24 | 2 | 24,561 |
The Little Prince now ranks as the most popular French film in Brazil in more than 20 years! With close to 2 million admissions registered in 6 weeks, the film produced by On Entertainment outshines the score earned by Lucy (1.8 million admissions). The Top 3 French productions monitored by UniFrance films in Brazil now includes films released no more than 12 months ago, with Taken 3 (1.5 million admissions) completing the trio. Posting a total of 3.2 million tickets sold at the end of September in 8 international markets, The Little Prince stands out as the third most successful majority-French animated film of the past 20 years according to UniFrance films statistics, behind Arthur and the Invisibles (10.3 million admissions) and Igor (4 million).
For the third consecutive year, French films have beaten their record for the number of screens allotted to French productions in Russia. Following Taken 3, released on 1,438 prints (766,000 admissions) and Mune, with 1,492 prints released (988,000 admissions), The Transporter Legacy has topped 1,500 prints (1,502). The 4th installment in the EuropaCorp franchise jumped to the top of the Russian box office in its opening week, registering just under 750,000 admissions in September. This film tallied a total of 4.3 million admissions in 28 foreign territories at the end of September.
It has been an exceptionally good year for French films in Colombia. Only nine months into the year, French productions have already exceeded their best annual performance to date, achieved in 2012 (1.4 million admissions). With around 1.7 million spectators registered at the end of September, French cinema's strong position in this market in 2015 follows suit with the current strength of the local market, which marked a rise of 30.5% in overall attendance figures between the first semester of 2014 and the first semester of 2015—marking a 61.6% rise for Colombian productions. Among successful French films this year, thrillers, comedies, and fantasy films have won over Colombian moviegoers: Taken 3 (770,000 admissions) leads the pack, followed by The Bélier Family (537,000), Beauty and the Beast (134,000), and Serial (Bad) Weddings (96,000). Auteur films have also achieved encouraging results, such as Timbuktu (23,000), Marie Heurtin (15,000), and 3 Hearts (11,000).
2015 is also proving to be a successful year for French fare in Mexico. With close to 6 million admissions recorded at the end of September, French films' excellent performance in 2014 has now been surpassed (with 5.4 million spectators registered, the 2nd highest score of the decade). While Taken 3 is credited for one half of these admissions, three French-language films have also crossed the 100,000 spectators mark in 2015: Beauty and the Beast (994,000 admissions), Serial (Bad) Weddings (250,000), and The Bélier Family (114,000). Bolstered by this strengthened visibility, French films are currently attracting added attention in Mexico at this time with the "Tour Cine Francés" (French Film Tour). In 4 weeks, the 19th edition of this festival attracted 250,000 spectators, which are unprecedented figures for a paying French film festival abroad. This year, the festival selection showcased 7 films: The New Girlfriend, Nobody from Nowhere, A Perfect Man, Samba, The Price of Fame, Blind Date, and Marguerite.