French films at the international box office: June 2023

26 JULY 2023

In June, French cinema was represented in international theaters by over 300 titles already in distribution and over 180 new releases, registering a total of 1.9 million admissions and generating €11.2 million in ticket sales.


#	Title	Admissions	B.O. Revenues (€)	No. of Prints	No. of Countries	Total Admissions	Total Revenues
1	King	285,202	661,057	1,347	2	932,712	3,038,098
2	Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom	148,361	1,134,561	731	12	2,625,404	17,367,440
3	Rumba Therapy	80,708	690,224	353	2	144,439	1,155,687
4	Jack Mimoun and the Secrets of Val Verde	46,449	150,800	1,153	1	95,667	563,603
5	The Translators	42,564	233,495	193	3	412,812	2,620,117
6	The Crime Is Mine	42,300	240,750	317	6	299,629	2,098,444
7	Driving Madeleine	40,835	359,680	305	8	418,779	3,721,246
8	Argonuts	36,597	189,933	367	16	1,238,317	7,145,571
9	Around the World in 80 Days	33,757	114,975	209	4	1,617,415	9,700,920
10	Alibi.com 2	31,221	190,319	340	5	90,415	780,363
11	Houria	28,161	133,233	197	7	39,046	211,878
12	The Three Musketeers - D'Artagnan	27,396	219,725	212	16	1,565,866	8,577,611
13	Whale Nation	26,027	70,007	319	1	37,747	191,068
14	La Maison	20,687	98,180	175	3	30,621	166,254
15	The Sitting Duck	20,015	148,534	156	9	61,762	498,402
16	Ténor	18,243	155,128	21	1	91,940	757,698
17	Return to Seoul	18,222	115,344	66	6	243,056	1,973,019
18	Just the Two of Us	17,277	162,839	39	2	18,974	187,159
19	The Night of the 12th	17,138	123,399	57	12	147,184	987,338
20	Divertimento	16,060	143,544	105	4	25,826	258,050

Sluggish box office results in June for French films in theaters abroad

French films registered less than two million admissions and generated €11.2 million in ticket sales in foreign theaters in June. This was the lowest month for admissions and box office revenues since September 2022 (1.5 million / €9.74 million), despite more than 300 films in exhibition. But the latter figure includes the many titles already in distribution, and when we look at the volume of new releases (183), we see that there were 20 fewer than in May. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the start of summer coincides with the kick-off of Hollywood studio blockbuster launches. Fewer in number during the 2020-2022 period due to the pandemic, which prompted the majors to err on the side of caution and even to turn to platforms, in 2023 they've arrived en masse, eagerly awaited by moviegoers and without having lost their power to monopolize screens. Secondly, no French juggernaut arrived on foreign markets in June (as was the case in February, March, and April). Finally, cinema attendance slows during the summer months in several countries. That said, there are some positive signs on the horizon, not least the arrival of Ladybug & Cat Noir Awakening, and the Palme d'or winner Anatomy of a Fall in the next two months, not to mention the highly anticipated launches of other unreleased French films.

The best performances acheived by French films

King King took the top spot in our montly chart, becoming the French film seen by the most people outside France. Although released in France a year and four months ago, the adventure film arrived in Russia and attracted 285,000 moviegoers (Exponenta, €0.66 million in box office revenues), a feat that took it past 900,000 tickets sold outside France. This is not the only title whose international career began some time ago and was back in the spotlight this month, as French productions are often released over several years. In third position on the podium, Rumba Therapy confirmed German audiences' passion for French comedies, with 76,000 admissions racked up in two weeks (Neue Visionen, €0.65 million); Jack Mimoun and the Secrets of Val Verde attracted 46,000 Russians (Central Partnership, €0.15 million) The Translators finally landed on screens in Germany (24 Bilder Filmagentur), Austria (Constantin) and Mexico (Cinemex); last but not least, Around the World in 80 Days attracted almost 30,000 admissions in Turkey (CJ, €0.09 million). The rest of the monthly top 10 features the big French hits of recent months. First of all, Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom, which was warmly received by German (Leonine, 231,000 admissions and €1.82 million overall) and Austrian (Constantin, 86,000 and €0.76 million) audiences, followed by the comedies The Crime Is Mine and Driving Madeleine, animation Argonuts, and newcomer Alibi.com 2. A special mention goes to the minority-French production The Eight Mountains, the third French film to attract over 100,000 foreign viewers in June, and which had already charmed 830,000 (€7.32 million). Two titles (Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom and Argonuts) were exhibited in more than 10 markets outside France this month.

Audience numbers on the rise in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America

Rumba Therapy Western Europe accounted for a third of French cinema admissions in June (0.83 million), a leadership that proved less overwhelming than in previous months. Audiences for French films in this region, as well as in North America and Oceania, were less numerous than in May. On the other hand, they doubled in Central and Eastern Europe (0.63 million, 2nd position), and increased by 15% in Asia (0.2 million, 3rd position) and Latin America (which came close to 100,000 admissions, 4th position) in one month. This new reorganization has inevitably had an impact on territorial rankings: among the five with over 100,000 tickets sold, we find Russia (0.42 million, thanks to King and Jack Mimoun and the Secrets of Val Verde), Germany (0.27 million, Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom, and Rumba Therapy), China (0.15 million, the minority-French Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness), Poland (0.14 million, the minority-French The Eight Mountains), and Spain (0.11 million).

Comedies, dramas, and adventure films were the most popular genres

Once again, comedy/dramatic comedy was the month's leading genre, attracting 0.59 million foreign cinema-goers, or 30.9% of the total, boosted by the 148,000 moviegoers who chose Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom, and claiming six places in the monthly top 10. The second-ranked genre followed very, very closely, as dramas appealed to 0.57 million viewers, including 105,000 thanks to the minority-French production The Eight Mountains. June's champion, King, kept the adventure/police/thriller genre on the podium, which remained unchanged from May, but with very different balances. Only two genres attracted more moviegoers this month: documentaries (+31%, thanks to 26,000 admissions for Whale Nation) and the aforementioned adventure/political/thriller (+25%).

Majority-French productions and French-language productions still lead

The 216 majority-French financed films (71% of the total) in theaters generated 72% of admissions registered in June, and their audiences were only 2% down on the previous month. Minority-French productions (87 / 29%) attracted 16% fewer viewers than in May, and saw their share fall to 28%. The same applied to language: French-language titles dominated the scene (1.5 million admissions, 79% of the total, -5% in one month), which put foreign-language titles at a disadvantage, with audience numbers down 13% and their share down to 21%. Minority- and foreign-language productions are traditionally dependent on one or two strong titles, as was the case with Triangle of Sadness and Close in recent months, while majority- and French-language productions can rely on a higher number of films on offer to be less affected by the ups and downs of international audience figures.

Whale Nation

> This report can be downloaded in PDF format below (French version only)

> This report is based on results recorded on July 12, 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.