In December, an action comedy arrived in China, a drama appealed to Japanese audiences, while a comedy delighted Australian moviegoers.
In December, one French production brought together more than 75,000 international spectators.
| # | Title | No. of Admissions | Box Office Revenues (€) | No. of Prints | No. of Countries | Total Admissions |
| 1 | City Hunter | 75,000 | 295,578 | NC | 1 | 351,999 |
| 2 | Portrait of a Lady on Fire | 34,594 | 372,917 | 35 | 4 | 1,474,918 |
| 3 | How to be a Good Wife | 16,428 | 171,285 | 30 | 2 | 115,702 |
| 4 | Miss | 8,023 | 44,205 | 51 | 1 | 12,292 |
| 5 | Summer of 85 | 7,949 | 49,926 | 167 | 7 | 96,218 |
| 6 | Josep | 6,588 | 40,312 | 25 | 1 | 7,052 |
| 7 | De Gaulle | 5,552 | 36,516 | 63 | 3 | 37,907 |
| 8 | A Mermaid in Paris | 5,512 | 20,160 | 29 | 2 | 57,636 |
| 9 | Night Shift | 4,959 | 42,407 | 41 | 2 | 31,285 |
| 10 | In the Name of the Land | 4,610 | 41,412 | 26 | 1 | 72,849 |
| 11 | Lux Æterna | 4,425 | 19,143 | 29 | 2 | 19,144 |
| 12 | Funan | 4,424 | 48,906 | 14 | 1 | 10,631 |
| 13 | I Wish Someone Were Waiting For Me Somewhere | 2,872 | 17,303 | 33 | 1 | 22,701 |
| 14 | 10 days Without Mum | 2,706 | 9,003 | 37 | 5 | 185,615 |
| 15 | Terra Willy | 2,597 | 22,927 | 22 | 2 | 906,569 |
| 16 | The Translators | 2,390 | 19,178 | 12 | 2 | 277,584 |
| 17 | DNA | 2,060 | 7,519 | 32 | 1 | 3,086 |
| 18 | Mama Weed | 2,052 | 13,229 | 7 | 2 | 185,491 |
| 19 | The Best Years of a Life | 2,011 | 7,146 | 61 | 1 | 240,932 |
| 20 | The Mystery of Henri Pick | 1,614 | 7,831 | 44 | 3 | 563,735 |
In December, French cinema generated 371,000 international admissions (€2.4 million in box office revenues) thanks to 120 different titles, with majority productions accounting for 57% of the total (210,000 tickets sold and €1.4 million at the box office). Monthly total admissions were down 54% compared to the previous month and 85% compared to December 2019 (2.54 million), when 9 titles exceeded the 100,000 spectator mark. The second wave of cinema closures in several countries, particularly in Europe, is having an impact on the performance of French cinema, whose attendance rate is declining and is close to that of June 2020.
While its first releases date back to 2019, it was not until December 2020 that City Hunter appeared for the first time in the monthly rankings, and reached its peak, thanks to its Chinese release. On December 11, the comedy had just under 33,000 sessions, which made it the biggest French debut of 2020 in this country. Despite this schedule, the fifth largest of the day, City Hunter landed in ninth position in the local top 10, mobilizing only 36,500 spectators.
Philippe Lacheau's latest comedy ended its first week with 75,000 tickets sold and €295,500 in box office revenues. It arrived in China one year after Japan, where it achieved its best score (133,000 admissions and €1.52 million), and, still in Asia, Taiwan (19,500 and €111,500), Thailand (14,500 and €66,000), and Cambodia (6,000 and €15 000). To date, it has attracted a total of 352,000 spectators outside France (€2.58 million in box office revenues).
Accustomed to being part of the monthly rankings, Portrait of a Lady on Fire returned to the podium. At the beginning of December, it played in 27 Japanese theaters and drew in 12,000 spectators (€150,000 in box office revenues). The drama launched on more than 200 screens in a market monopolized by numerous local releases and was confronted with the absence of older spectators, the main audience for arthouse cinema, who were reluctant to return to movie houses because of the increase in new Covid-19 cases. In spite of this, Portrait of a Lady on Fire was the title most seen in "mini-theaters" - independent cinemas that program arthouse films.
The run promises to be long: a month after its release, it was still showing in 30 theaters and crossed the 35,000 spectator mark (€372,000). Since September 2019, Céline Sciamma's film has been seen by 1.47 million million foreign moviegoers (€10.8 million in box office revuenes), including, in Asia, 150,000 in South Korea (€881,000), 15,000 in Taiwan (€101,500), and 5,000 in Hong Kong (€42,500) and Thailand (€26,000). If we include France, Portrait of a Lady on Fire has 50 launches to its credit!
Another new entrant was How to be a Good Wife, which closed the top 3 titles. Boxing Day is traditionally the day of the year when the Australian box office accumulates its highest ticket sales. Martin Provost's comedy launched in thirty cinemas and provided an alternative to the blockbusters Wonder Woman 1984 and The Croods: A New Age, which had the run of 800 and 400 cinemas respectively. The film closed its opening week with AU$137,500 in box office revenues, corresponding to 9,500 spectators. Taking into account the premieres and screenings at the Alliance Française French Film Festival, How to be a Good Wife's box office figures hovered close to AU$400,000 and 25,000 admissions. Considering the 60% drop at the Australian box office compared to the same week in 2019, the film's performance is in line with that of The Truth (AU$910,500 and 70,500 total admissions), also launched on December 26 (2019). How to be a Good Wife will arrive on Spanish screens on January 6.
This report is based on results recorded on January 6, 2021. 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.
