Between October and December 2022, more than 550 French productions were shown across the five continents. Among them, 39 were animation films, representing 7.0% of global titles. Over the same period, they generated 1.04 million admissions, which corresponded to 13.6% of the audience who attended French cinema abroad.
Animation continued to play a key role in the circulation of French cinema by helping to ensure its presence on foreign screens. During the last three months of 2022, the genre brought together more than 1 million moviegoers outside our borders. Among the 13 French productions that attracted more than 100,000 spectators, 3 were animated. And Pil was the second most seen French title in theatres outside France during the quarter.
The top five French animation films by international admissions in October, November, and December 2022
| Rank | Title | Territoires | Admissions (10/01/2022 to 12/31/2022) | Total Admissions |
| 1 | Pil | 21 | 336,257 | 1,500,656 |
| 2 | Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness* | 13 | 185,407 | 1,656,168 |
| 3 | Around the World in 80 Days | 6 | 161,530 | 1,556,391 |
| 4 | Little Nicholas - Happy as Can Be | 11 | 67,517 | 67,517 |
| 5 | Fireheart* | 9 | 65,720 | 2,129,468 |
* Production with minority-French financing.
Pil took top ranking as the most seen French animated film in theaters worldwide during the last three months of 2022. Its successful launch in Poland enabled it to achieve this feat: in 300 cinemas across the country, the adventures of the rebellious princess attracted 206,000 young and old (M2 Films, €0.84 million in box office revenues), a score that took it to third place in the local weekly rankings. Poland thus became the leading foreign country in terms of audience numbers for Pil, ahead of Mexico (Zima, 150 000 et 0,36 M€) and the Czech Republic (Bontonfilm A.S.,103,000 and €0.59 million). In the latter country, the film's success was unquestionable: the last French production to cross the 100,000 ticket sales threshold was The Little Prince (A Company, (A Company, 127,000 and €0.50 million) in 2015!
Meanwhile Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness rounded off 2022 with a release in Spain that garnered 143,000 admissions (A Contracorriente Films, €0.87 million), its third best result after Russia (Volga, 573,000 and €1.03 million) and Vietnam (CGV, 145,000 and €0.46 million). The top three was completed by the unmissable Around the World in 80 Days, which appealed to 61,000 Vietnamese moviegoers (CJ HK, €0.18 million) and continued to do well in Croatia, where it approached 50,000 admissions (Blitz, €0.18 million).
Little Nicholas - Happy as Can Be and Ernest and Célestine : A Journey in Charabia, which have just launched their international releases, narrowly made it into the top five rankings..
Upcoming theatrical releases
- The Black Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess, sold by Playtime, will soon release in Norway (Fidalgo).
- Around the World in 80 Days, sold by StudioCanal, will soon release in Turkey (CGV).
- Argonuts, sold by Kinology, will soon release in South Africa (UIP), Australia and New Zealand (Icon), Spain (Notorious), and Portugal (Nos).
* The above releases are subject to cancellation or postponement.
For more information about the results and international releases of French films, please contact Andrea Sponchiado (andrea.sponchiado@unifrance.org).
