Despite the current challenges faced by international markets, October 2021 saw over 220 French productions hitting movie screens abroad, generating 1.73 million admissions and €11.6 million in ticket sales.
Titane was the film that was most seen in theaters in October 2021, with two other titles, My Son and Around the World in 80 Days, also attracting more than 100,000 spectators outside France.
| # | Title | Admissions | Box Office Revenues (€) | No. of Prints | No. of Countries | Total Admissions | Total Revenues |
| 1 | Titane | 282,727 | 2,025,396 | 1,162 | 15 | 313,066 | 2,311,882 |
| 2 | My Son | 124,096 | 445,590 | 886 | 2 | 125,308 | 454,074 |
| 3 | Around the World in 80 Days | 118,523 | 738,315 | 754 | 10 | 583,414 | 2,737,335 |
| 4 | Eiffel | 96,147 | 719,503 | 478 | 6 | 140,829 | 1,107,456 |
| 5 | Benedetta | 77,987 | 596,076 | 290 | 5 | 105,231 | 849,547 |
| 6 | The Wolf and the Lion | 68,494 | 451,699 | 368 | 7 | 68,494 | 451,699 |
| 7 | Annette | 45,959 | 294,787 | 508 | 12 | 232,527 | 1,402,892 |
| 8 | 10,000 Nights in the Jungle | 40,234 | 400,495 | 67 | 1 | 42,336 | 418,379 |
| 9 | Petite Maman | 38,719 | 252,978 | 271 | 6 | 53,862 | 362,139 |
| 10 | Family Swap | 35,528 | 207,991 | 207 | 3 | 181,943 | 1,104,102 |
| 11 | The Rose Maker | 33,688 | 255,851 | 206 | 7 | 132,905 | 1,071,119 |
| 12 | The man who sold his skin | 27,262 | 144,233 | 191 | 11 | 68,250 | 299,371 |
| 13 | Bergman Island | 23,363 | 181,967 | 209 | 6 | 23,363 | 181,967 |
| 14 | Slalom | 22,085 | 66,486 | 84 | 3 | 25,772 | 89,128 |
| 15 | France | 15,064 | 80,812 | 222 | 3 | 16,675 | 99,599 |
| 16 | Little Nicholas' Treasure | 14,902 | 142,819 | 58 | 2 | 14,902 | 142,819 |
| 17 | Mama Weed | 14,830 | 74,666 | 72 | 5 | 316,063 | 2,424,301 |
| 18 | Breathless | 13,127 | 82,722 | 72 | 5 | 197,329 | 1,182,250 |
| 19 | Délicieux | 13,094 | 98,402 | 44 | 3 | 35,084 | 268,864 |
| 20 | Spoiled Brats | 11,984 | 119,308 | 30 | 2 | 27,413 | 270,465 |
The increase in the number of new films released in theaters and fears of the consequences of a new wave of the pandemic characterized October. Moviegoers were able to take advantage of a constantly expanding range of films on offer, enabling admissions to continue to grow week after week. However, the market situation remained far from uniform across the five continents - on the contrary, it varied greatly from one area to another. The latest lockdowns and curfews were lifted in Australia and Japan; Italian cinemas, those in Rio de Janeiro, Madrid, and Catalonia started returning to full capacity; cinemas in Mumbai and Phnom Penh could reopen after months of shutdown. On the other hand, the resurgence of the public health crisis, especially in Europe and the Americas, pushed many governments to make access to movie theaters conditional on the presentation of a vaccination certificate (in Belgium, Ecuador, Estonia, Ireland, Los Angeles, and New York, among others), or to even lower seating capacity (as in Chile, Ecuador, and Romania). Others went further and undertook to close theaters for two (Russia) ou three (Latvia) weeks or a month. These measures would also be implemented in many other markets at the beginning of November.
French cinema strengthened its international presence and in October registered its third highest number of admissions (1.73 million) of 2021, behind September (1.82) and June (2.14). The million-spectator threshold was easily crossed for the fifth time; admissions were down slightly (-5%), while the number of titles released increased (+20) compared to September 2021. Among the ten most popular majority-French productions, the vast majority were recently released in France and enhanced the French films on offer abroad. As in September, majority-French productions outdistanced minority productions, the main protagonists for the first half of 2021: their share increased again to reach 77%, their highest level of the current year. On the other hand, the share of French-language productions was reduced to two out of three admissions in the monthly total (three out of four the previous month), a shift that can be explained by the arrival of My Son and The Wolf and the Lion.
The top three titles are films that each attracted more than 100,000 moviegoers, for the second time this year, following on from August! Majority-French productions continued to gradually regain their audience: 23 attracted more than 10,000 spectators in October, six more than in September and 4.5 times more than in June. The analysis of additional levels gives us reason for hope. This month, the symbolic threshold of 100,000 admissions was crossed by three films (as opposed to two in September and three in August), the 50,000 threshold by six (four in September, one in August) and the 20,000 threshold by fourteen (twelve in September, eight in August). An increasing number films are being released in several territories and attracting more moviegoers.
The breakdown by genre started changing. Drama was once again the leading genre, accounting for nearly one in three international admissions for French cinema in October. For the first time this year, all the other genres (except for documentary and war/history) were neck and neck, each with a share exceeding 10%. Fantasy/horror/science fiction took second place and comedy/comedy-drama retained third place in the rankings.
Around the World in 80 Days continued its fine international career but dropped two positions from September to be third on the podium, while retaining the title of the biggest French-majority success of 2021, the only one to have garnered more than half a million foreign spectators to date. The new number one place-holder is Titane. This year's Palme d'Or winner, which will represent France in the running for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film, is currently distributed in fifteen markets and is doing particularly well in the United States, where it has been released in more than 560 theaters, earning $1.44 million in box office revenues and tallying more than 150,000 admissions. The film attracted as many French as foreign filmgoers. 122,000 Russians came out to see My Son, whose career was impacted by the strict measures that came into effect in the country a week after its release. The same fate befell Eiffel, whose tally paused at 32,000 tickets, but which came back strongly in Australia where several theaters were able to reopen. At the end of October, it was playing in 63 theaters (27 at the start) and had generated more revenues than in mid-September. In Spain, Benedetta enjoyed its best opening week (32,000 admissions in total), but the Netherlands is currently the market offering it the most spectators (almost 38,000 in total). Another production that launched its international career: The Wolf and the Lion by Gilles de Maistre, the director of one of French cinema's most successful recent titles on the international scene, Mia and the White Lion (4.52 million admissions in 2019). As the box on the left proves, French cinema has repeatedly landed a spot in the local top ten in different markets.
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This report is based on results recorded on November 10, 2021. Since our statistics for film releases are continuously being updated, the graphics generated automatically on our website will differ from the chart featured in this article.
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UniFrance - Analyse mensuelle - Octobre 2021
