In January 2022, French cinema was represented by over 190 films showing in theaters outside France and more than 120 new releases, attracting 1.61 million spectators and generating €9.32 million in ticket sales.
The Wolf and the Lion registered 223,000 admissions in foreign theaters, while Délicieux garnered over 111,000 admissions.
| # | Title | Admissions | Box Office Receipts (€) | No. of Prints | No. of Countries | Total Adms. | Total Revenues |
| 1 | The Wolf and the Lion | 223,813 | 1,432,618 | 696 | 13 | 760,019 | 4 245 294 |
| 2 | Délicieux | 111,860 | 785,199 | 323 | 7 | 297,034 | 2 218 621 |
| 3 | Vicky and her Mystery | 99,085 | 350,147 | 635 | 7 | 108,786 | 443 908 |
| 4 | Pil | 98,867 | 235,541 | 751 | 2 | 194,199 | 557 816 |
| 5 | Benedetta | 93,157 | 328,158 | 405 | 14 | 294,534 | 1 898 591 |
| 6 | Around the World in 80 Days | 72,291 | 432,022 | 414 | 5 | 783,445 | 3 813 826 |
| 7 | Black Box | 58,175 | 309,650 | 285 | 5 | 135,581 | 815 062 |
| 8 | Titane | 42,550 | 240,056 | 206 | 16 | 486,056 | 3 440 802 |
| 9 | Aline, the Voice of Love | 40,923 | 241,352 | 761 | 9 | 204,676 | 1 543 308 |
| 10 | Christmas with the Tuche | 39,102 | 358,211 | 50 | 2 | 164,337 | 1 492 939 |
| 11 | OSS 117: From Africa With Love | 29,792 | 128,620 | 698 | 2 | 185,950 | 1,621,890 |
| 12 | Lost Illusions | 28,556 | 172,838 | 101 | 3 | 61,633 | 469,056 |
| 13 | Waiting for Bojangles | 28,109 | 258,390 | 71 | 3 | 28,109 | 258,390 |
| 14 | Between Two Worlds | 25,163 | 180,479 | 147 | 4 | 25,163 | 180,479 |
| 15 | Everything Went Fine | 24,564 | 135,200 | 256 | 8 | 46,825 | 336,147 |
| 16 | The Velvet Queen | 19,197 | 211,124 | 64 | 2 | 40,409 | 465,505 |
| 17 | The Vets | 17,976 | 132,109 | 98 | 2 | 62,485 | 460,583 |
| 18 | Beautiful Minds | 17,310 | 200,641 | 60 | 2 | 17,310 | 200,641 |
| 19 | Fly Me Away | 14,282 | 48,660 | 158 | 1 | 33,277 | 200,274 |
| 20 | Family Swap | 13,844 | 69,126 | 31 | 1 | 214,132 | 1,263,275 |
Between uncertainty and encouraging signs
2022 started out in line with the trends of December 2021, with a combination of closed movie theaters, tightened access restrictions, postponed releases, and the alarming spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. However, the second half of the month took a different turn: while the pandemic is far from behind us, we appear to have reached (or almost reached) the peak of this fifth wave of the virus. As a result, we have seen the reopening of theaters in a number of countries (only Hong Kong and Quebec have retained the closures) and governments are speaking about and/or planning for the scaling back of measures currently in place. This climate of hope is encouraging distributors not to alter their release schedules: the future blockbuster Death on the Nile and the French titles Superwho? and Fireheart, among other titles, hit the screens early February as originally planned. While it is undeniable that the effects of the recent wave of the pandemic continue to cast a shadow on the movie sector, all eyes are now focused on February. Will February, at last, be the month that makes it possible to lay the foundations for a fresh start with a long-term perspective?
French box office results on the rise
Despite a drop in the number of films showing in theaters and the number of new releases compared to last month, French cinema maintained its ranking in international theaters in January 2022, registering 24% more spectators than in December 2021 (1.3 million), with admissions figures more than doubling in comparison to January 2020 (770,000). The top performing title of the month, The Wolf and the Lion, was far ahead of its competitors, winning over 223,000 moviegoers (against 113,000 admissions registered by the top title last month, Christmas with the Tuche). Délicieux also crossed the 100,000 admissions mark, with 2 other titles coming very close. 4 films were shown in over 10 markets (compared to 6 in December 2021).
Europe maintains its leading position
Europe accounted for three quarters of all admissions to French films in theaters abroad in January, with Western Europe's share reaching 51%. Among other geographic regions, only Latin America registered more than 100,000 admissions and 10% of the market. Italy emerges as the leading foreign market for French films in terms of spectator numbers in January 2022, spurred by 376,000 ticket sales, which represents close to one fifth of all admissions in this period. Italy was followed by two markets that are geographically far apart, but close in terms of results: Mexico (178,000 spectators) and Russia (164,000), ahead of Belgium & Luxembourg (114,000) and Spain (111,000).
A month dominated by adventure films
The successful opening of The Wolf and the Lion in Italy propelled the adventure/detective/thriller genre to center stage: with this genre accounting for just 12 films screening in international screens in January 2022, it represented one fifth of all admissions to French films. Comedies and dramas followed closely behind, together accounting for over 20% of admissions in this period. Among other genres, only animations attracted spectator numbers approaching 200,000 and a market share above 10%.
Majority-French productions and French-language productions lead the charts
Films majority-produced by France generated 82% of admissions recorded in January, dropping back by 8% compared to last month. They were led by two titles that each pulled in over 100,000 spectators (The Wolf and the Lion and Délicieux), followed by five other titles that registered over 50,000 spectators. The top-scoring productions minority-produced by France this month were A Hero (a film not certified by the CNC) and Pinocchio, which were seen, respectively, by 88,000 and 78,000 foreign moviegoers. The abovementioned titles, along with The Wolf and the Lion, secured a 32% share of attendance figures for foreign-language productions, showing a rise of 12% over last month. Films shot in French lost ground in January, but nonetheless captured 68% of the month's admissions.
The top performances by French titles
The Wolf and the Lion was eagerly awaited by Italian audiences, with 200,000 moviegoers already registered for the film (01 Distribution). Its release in Italy ranks as the second best opening for a French film in an international market since the start of the pandemic, after that of Yakari, A Spectacular Journey in Germany (Leonine – 154,000 admissions at the end of its run). This outstanding score allowed adventure films to oust Spider-Man after 5 weeks at the top of the charts, and led to its release being expanded to 200 new sites on its second weekend (777 sites). Another title attracted 100,000 spectators in its opening week: Pil, which debuted in 750 theaters in Mexico, taking 6th place in the local charts (Zima Entertainment). Benedetta also registered its best performance outside France in Mexico (Tulip Pictures – 64,000 admissions) and put France back in the Top 10 in Brazil after a year and a half of absence from the charts (Imovision – 12,000). Délicieux is still showing on more than 100 screens in Spain one month after its release, and has already charmed 71,000 spectators (A Contracorriente Films), marking the second highest score for a majority-French production shot in French in this market during the "Covid era." Meanwhile, Vicky and her Mystery debuted in Russia (Megogo – 60,000 admissions total) and in Ukraine (Kinomania – 31,000), ranking as the highest opening week admissions score for a majority-French production shot in French since March 2020. Around the World in 80 Days and Christmas with the Tuche are currently continuing their successful launches in Poland (Monolith) and Belgium (Alternative). One month after their opening, these two titles featured in the weekly Top 10 charts: the former has reached the symbolic 100,000 admissions mark, while the latter topped €1 million at the box office (120,000 admissions).
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This report is based on results recorded on February 10, 2022. 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 - Janvier 2022
