French films at the international box office: December 2022

20 JANUARY 2023

In December 2022, French cinema was represented in international theaters by over 280 films already distributed and over 180 new releases, registering a total of 2.5 million admissions and generating €17 million in ticket sales.

The Chorus, bolstered by its release in China, climbed to the top of the monthly charts after attracting 210,000 spectators. Four other productions appealed to more than 100,000 moviegoers: The New Toy and the minority-French productions Triangle of Sadness, The Eight Mountains, and Corsage.

#	Title	Admissions	B.O. Revenues (€)	No. of Prints	No. of Countries	Total admissions
1	The Chorus	210,487	997,512	0	1	5,524,555
2	The New Toy	104,659	598,447	726	6	199,271
3	Belle and Sebastian - Next Generation	98,124	335,132	278	4	256,327
4	Serial (Bad) Weddings 3	63,252	424,338	338	5	1,823,120
5	Ernest and Célestine : A Journey in Charabia	52,866	406,775	406	5	52,866
6	Poly	52,192	176,983	193	2	135,963
7	Forever Young	49,919	322,816	149	3	54,316
8	Kandisha	49,478	138,453	390	1	229,805
9	Simone: The Journey of the Century	46,142	376,517	123	4	121,899
10	Pil	43,309	302,476	204	14	1,433,929
11	Price of Parenting	38,820	227,581	47	1	72,375
12	Mascarade	38,049	232,271	279	5	72,856
13	Little Nicholas - Happy as Can Be	37,572	229,387	319	10	65,838
14	Terra Willy	33,882	189,071	290	1	1,023,562
15	More than Ever	31,913	271,789	162	6	31,913
16	The Big Hit	27,751	217,777	87	4	160,745
17	The Kitchen Brigade	25,429	152,490	115	6	150,055
18	Little Nicholas' Treasure	18,955	68,302	90	2	681,539
19	The Night of the 12th	18,867	109,442	178	6	72,423
20	Heart of Oak	17,840	64,378	20	4	97,886

Box office for French films on the rise internationally

French cinema attracted 2.5 million spectators and generated nearly €17 million in international box office revenues in December. Admissions (+13%), box office revenues (+10%), films in distribution (+4%), and new releases (+25%) were all higher than the previous month: this was the fifth best performing month of 2022. Nevertheless, the Avatar 2 phenomenon monopolized both screens and audiences on all five continents, leaving very little room for other titles. Five films brought together more than 100,000 spectators (The Chorus, re-released in China, and The New Toy, as well as the minority-French productions Triangle of Sadness, The Eight Mountains, and Corsage), and 27 were distributed in more than five markets each.

Europe further strengthened its leadership

Western Europe accounted for slightly more than half of all French cinema admissions in November (52.5%), a share equivalent to that of the previous month. The central and eastern part of the continent, on the other hand, dropped three points to 23%. Europe as a whole remained the leading geographical area in terms of the number of tickets sold by French films (75.5%): four out of five spectators were therefore from this region. Unsurprisingly, among the eight countries with more than 100,000 spectators attending French films (-1 in one month), seven were in this zone: Italy (305,000 admissions) was in first place, ahead of The Netherlands (233,000), and Russia (218,000). Outside Europe, China, the only territory with more than 100,000 admissions, re-entered the top 10 bolstered by the re-release of The Chorus (210,000). As a result, Asia was the only other geographic area with a market share exceeding 10%.

Comedy continued to be the most popular genre

For the sixth time this year, comedy/dramatic comedy was the leading genre of the month, attracting 1.3 million foreign filmgoers, or 52% of the total, boosted by three productions exceeding 100,000 spectators (the minority-French Triangle of Sadness, as well as The Chorus, and The New Toy). Along with biopic/war/history, driven by Corsage (164,000 admissions, minority-French production), drama was the other genre to attract more moviegoers than in November 2022, thanks to the fine performance of The Eight Mountains (167,000, minority-French production). With the exception of comedy and drama, all genres generated a market share of less than 10%, including adventure/police/thriller, despite Belle and Sebastian - Next Generation narrowly missing the 100,000 ticket sales mark.

Majority-French productions shot in the French language still in the lead

The 214 French majority-financed films exhibited in theaters generated 55% of the admissions recorded during the month of December, and gained further ground compared to the previous month. Minority-French productions (72 titles) saw their market share of admissions shrink and remain confined to under 50%. In December, the majority-French financed titles garnered 23% more viewers than in November, more than the minority group (+2%). The same was true for language: French-language titles continued to dominate the scene, generating 1.5 million admissions (+9%), but their contribution began decreasing to 59%, as the increase in foreign-language titles was twice as great (+19%): Triangle of Sadness alone came close to generating 600,000 admission during December

The best performances by French films

The ChorusThe Chorus was the French film that was most seen in movie theaters abroad in December. It was surprising to discover an older film at the top of the list. This was due to the film's re-release in a 4K digital version in China, where it had garnered 23,000 spectators on the occasion of its first release in 2004, and which mobilized 210,000 in December (China Film, €1 million in box office revenues). Although in the last few weeks the Chinese government has eased the restrictions engendered by the Covid-19 pandemic, this had not been the case for most of 2022: many theaters have been shuttered and the supply of new titles had been reduced (and even more focused on domestic productions), which is why older films are now being offered. The Chorus was the second French film to hit Chinese screens in 2022 after Love at Second Sight (China Film, 261,000 admissions and €1.17 million). Ernest and Célestine : A Journey in Charabia, Forever Young, and Poly made their first appearance in the monthly top 10 rankings. The first of them attracted 24,000 Italians (I Wonder, €0.15 million) and 20,500 Belgians (Cinéart, €0.17 million), the second 47,000 Italians (Lucky Red, €0.3 million), and the third made its debut in Poland, where it attracted 52,000 children and adults (Monolith, €0.18 million). 52,000 Italians discovered Serial (Bad) Weddings 3 (01 Distribution, €0.34 million) allowing it to re-enter the monthly chart, which also included Kandisha, Simone: The Journey of the Century, and Pil thanks to their solid runs. The latter also benefited Belle and Sebastian - Next Generation, which continued its fine career, with 176,000 admissions in Poland (Forum, €0.61 million). Nevertheless, it lost second place in the rankings to The New Toy, which gained three positions, mainly due to its releases in Central and Eastern Europe. At the end of December, it attracted the most filmgoers in Russia (Nashe Kino, 37,000 and €0.15 million), ahead of Poland (Kino Swiat, 26,000 and €0.11 million) – where it claimed fourth place in the local top 10 –, Belgium, and Luxembourg (Sony, 23,000 and €0.1 million), and Hungary (Vertigo, 14,000 and €72,000). At the beginning of January, after 12 weeks of uninterrupted release, The New Toy reached and exceeded 100,000 tickets sold and €1 million in box office revenues in Belgium and Luxembourg. Among the majority-French productions, two were animated films presented in more than 10 territories: Pil and Little Nicholas - Happy as Can Be (37,000 admissions and €0.23 million).

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Little Nicholas - Happy as Can Be

This report is based on results recorded on January 11, 2023. 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.