In October, a comedy grabbed attention in Germany, another comedy seduced the Italians, while a science fiction film arrived on Chinese screens.
In October, one French production attracted more than 140,000 spectators abroad.
| # | Title | No. of Admissions | Box Office Revenues (€) | No. of Prints | No. of Countries | Total Revenues |
| 1 | Mama Weed | 144,043 | 1,192,920 | 422 | 7 | 153,199 |
| 2 | Arab Blues | 84,070 | 524,032 | 283 | 9 | 230,600 |
| 3 | Just a Breath Away | 75,000 | 335,307 | NC | 1 | 715,491 |
| 4 | Summer of 85 | 40,278 | 208,978 | 308 | 7 | 75,343 |
| 5 | Terra Willy | 40,117 | 333,883 | 219 | 2 | 899,426 |
| 6 | The Room | 39,954 | 234,378 | 161 | 2 | 501,197 |
| 7 | My Donkey, My Lover & I | 37,169 | 317,711 | 341 | 5 | 46,055 |
| 8 | 30 Days Left | 20,874 | 220,897 | 48 | 2 | 20,874 |
| 9 | Yakari, A Spectacular Journey | 17,915 | 182,152 | 176 | 5 | 55,351 |
| 10 | Bye Bye Morons | 14,506 | 147,817 | 55 | 2 | 14,506 |
| 11 | 10 days Without Mum | 14,374 | 75,985 | 55 | 6 | 136,915 |
| 12 | The Translators | 13,679 | 105,765 | 57 | 5 | 266,286 |
| 13 | The Best is Yet to Come | 13,485 | 88,966 | 89 | 4 | 257,118 |
| 14 | Two of Us | 12,795 | 114,286 | 93 | 5 | 40,595 |
| 15 | A Friendly Tale | 12,311 | 88,121 | 94 | 3 | 38,204 |
| 16 | My Cousin | 11,267 | 111,985 | 50 | 2 | 11,267 |
| 17 | Oh Mercy! | 10,913 | 66,001 | 34 | 3 | 26,629 |
| 18 | Divorce Club | 8,978 | 53,891 | 120 | 2 | 64,984 |
| 19 | Delete History | 8,483 | 54,218 | 141 | 4 | 19,177 |
| 20 | The Mystery of Henri Pick | 7,589 | 57,001 | 38 | 3 | 543,410 |
In October, French cinema generated 2.1 million international admissions (€12.1 million in box office revenues) thanks to 200 different titles, with majority productions accounting for 36% of the total (765,000 tickets sold for a box office tally of €5.5 million). The monthly total is more than double that of the previous month (+114%) and 66% higher than in October 2019, when two titles passed the 100,000 spectator mark. This is the best month for French cinema in foreign theaters since their gradual reopening, and the third strongest month in terms of admissions in 2020 after February (2.8 million) and January (2.4 million).
Before scrolling down the top 3, it is necessary to specify that minority productions generated two out of three tickets in October. While Pinocchio (Italy/France) added 279,000 additional spectators to its previous tally, thereby approaching the symbolic threshold of one million admissions, Bigfoot Family caused a sensation by reaching and surpassing this threshold and racking up half the monthly score. The French-Belgian coproduction was a hit in Russia (592,000 tickets) and made a name for itself in The Netherlands (152,000 admissions) and Ukraine (82,000). The sequel to Bigfoot Junior (not licensed) can count on the international success of its predecessor to raise animation's flag and forge a path in a very complicated context. While its career will no doubt be impacted by the new wave of movie theater closures, Bigfoot Family has already earned its place among the most popular French productions of 2020.
The other surprise of the month came from Germany, where Mama Weed claimed several titles in just three weeks, including best opening week and biggest French success of 2020! Jean-Paul Salomé's latest film, the only French title to have sold more than 100,000 admissions since January across the Rhine, was scheduled by more than 300 cinemas during its second week of release, a print run that has not been reserved for any other French film this year. Unfortunately, the announcement of the shuttering of German theaters as of November 2 (temporarily) put an end to the comedy's presence in theaters, which, after attracting 117,000 German moviegoers (€945,000 in box office revenues), was counting on a solid run. Mama Weed is due to release in Spain, Portugal, Quebec, Russia, and Singapore before the end of the year.
Used to being in the top 3, Arab Blues held on to 2nd place. After premiering at the Venice Film Festival in 2019 and many summer previews, the comedy at last arrived on Italian screens. This market embraced Manele Labidi's debut film, which enjoyed its best release beyond French borders and whose career got underway on the right foot by playing in 170 theaters during its second weekend. Buoyed by a total of 72,000 admissions (€443,000 at the box office), its best result in a foreign territory, Arab Blues is the most seen French film of recent months in Italy, in second place for the current year after Spread Your Wings (102,000 admissions and €561,000). The comedy shared the same fate as Mama Weed in Germany, because, despite a good run in sight, it left Italian screens on October 26, the date when the order temporarily halting theatrical activity took effect. Arab Blues has already charmed 230,000 spectators outside France (€1.6 million).
Although Just a Breath Away released in France two and a half years ago, it recently made its first appearance among the monthly top 3 at the international box office. On October 23, it opened at 9th place in the Chinese rankings, but remained only a week in theaters, generating 75,000 admissions (€335,500 in box office revenues). Nevertheless, it managed to attract three times as many spectators as Cold Blood Legacy and Mia and the White Lion, the two other French productions released in China in 2020. Daniel Roby's science fiction film released the same day as a new local box office hit Sacrifice (9.5 million spectators in three days!), not to mention less recent national titles, but which still managed to generate between 500,000 and four million tickets per week. Just a Breath Away has garnered 715,000 admissions abroad (€2.4), including 173,000 in Peru (€446,000), where it stands out as the biggest French production in the French language success since Unifrance started following this market in 2008.
This report is based on results recorded on August 9, 2020. As the figures relating to film releases are continuously updated, the graphics generated automatically on our website will differ from the chart featured in this article.
Linked territories: Worldwide
