Between January and June 2023, nearly 700 French productions were shown across the five continents. Among them, 50 were animation films, representing 7% of global titles. Over the same period, they generated 2.3 million admissions, corresponding to more than 13% of the total audience who attended French cinema abroad.
French animation has continued to play a key role in promoting French cinema on foreign screens in 2023! Since the beginning of the year, it has included among its ranks one of the four titles tallying over one million admissions and five others attracting over 100,000 moviegoers. The French animated films on offer, which have expanded over the last few years, have found their place in a global market driven by family films, which are increasingly popular with audiences.
The top five French animation films by international admissions between January and June 2023
| Rank | Title | Territories | Admissions (semester) | Box Office Revenues (€) (semestre) |
| 1 | Argonuts | 25 | 1,238,317 | 7,145,571 |
| 2 | Little Nicholas - Happy as Can Be | 12 | 283,754 | 1,,037,972 |
| 3 | Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness * | 8 | 170,429 | 858,145 |
| 4 | Fireheart * | 9 | 120,203 | 552,955 |
| 5 | Pil | 6 | 115,179 | 457,935 |
* Production with minority-French financing.
The only new title in the top five, Argonuts scored a big hit with over 1.2 million admissions since the end of January! The film attracted over 300,000 young and old in the UK & Ireland (STUDIOCANAL (UK), €2.64 million in box office revenues), a threshold it just missed in Russia (VolgaFilm, €0.82 million), not to mention the 114,000 tickets sold in Italy (Notorious Pictures, 0,71 M€). €0.71 million). The film took second place in the Croatian and Slovakian charts, and third place in the Bosnian, Russian and South African charts in its opening week.
As for Little Nicholas - Happy as Can Be and Pil, their presence in the top five is mainly due to local success. In the case of Little Nicholas, the film was seen by 254,000 Poles (Monolith Films, €0.89 million), while the rebel prencess charmed 110,000 Romanians (Cay, €0.44 million). These were respectively the first and third best results garnered in international cinemas by these films.
The Asian markets extended the international tours of minority-French productions Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness – thanks to 92,000 admissions in China (China Film, €0.38 million) and 73,000 in South Korea (First Run, €0.46 million) – and Fireheart – 49,000 in Vietnam (CJ HK, €0.16 million), not to mention 30,000 spectators in Greece (Feelgood, €0.78 million).
ust outside the top five, Ernest and Célestine : A Journey in Charabia was the other animated film to have attracted over 100,000 spectators since the start of the year (172,000 and €1.08 million overall).
It's shaping up to be a promising summer for French animated productions outside our borders, as, in addition to the many new launches of the aforementioned films, two much-anticipated titles will be arriving: Ladybug & Cat Noir Awakening and The Jungle Bunch: World Tour!
Upcoming theatrical releases*
- Ernest and Célestine : A Journey in Charabia (sold by STUDIOCANAL): Germany (StudioCanal Germany), Spain (A Contracorriente), United States (GKids), and Turkey (Chantier).
- No Dogs or Italians Allowed (sold by Indie Sales): Italy (Lucky Red) and Switzerland (Outside The Box).
- The Jungle Bunch: World Tour (sold by SND): French-speaking Africa (Les Films 26), Belgium & Luxembourg (Distri7), Portugal (Nos), United Kingdom & Ireland (Signature), and Switzerland (Praesens).
- Ladybug & Cat Noir Awakening (sold by Sierra Affinity): Greece (Tanweer) and Turkey (The Moments Entertainment).
- Argonuts (sold by Kinology): Denmark (Another World), Finland (Cinemanse), Norway (Selmer Media), and Sweden (Lucky Dogs).
* The above releases are subject to cancellation or postponement
For further information on the results and international releases of French films, please contact Andrea Sponchiado (andrea.sponchiado@unifrance.org).
