French cinema and audiovisual figures and trends on the international scene in 2023

16 JANUARY 2024

In 2023, French films attracted 37.4 million spectators and generated €234.0 million in international box-office revenues. Attendance levels for French films on the big screen outside France continued to gain momentum, increasing by 38.5%, without however returning to pre-Covid-19 levels. As in 2022, French films consolidated their position in international movie theaters, helping to bring audiences back to the latter. French films also strengthened their position at festivals and on SVOD platforms. Positive trends continued to emerge in the audiovisual sector.

KEY FIGURES AND INFORMATION

MOVIE THEATERS*

37.4* million admissions (+38.5%*)
€234.0* million in box office revenues (+37.8%*)
29.7* million admissions for majority-French productions (+74.7%*)
30.1* million admissions for French-language productions (+53.6%*)
14.6* million admissions for productions classified as arthouse
220+ new films & 2,800+ new releases screening international theaters
7* films exceeding 1 million admissions (=)
61* films exceeding 100,000 admissions (+14)
Western Europe remains the leading geographic zone in terms of audience numbers (+38.5 %)
Central and Eastern Europe is the only region to record more entries in 2023 than in 2019 and 2018.

* Provisional and non-exhaustive data. Definitive results, available in the fall, will necessarily be higher (for example, for the year 2022: 27 million provisional admissions announced in January 2023, 31.3 million definitive admissions announced in October 2023). For the sake of consistency, the above trends are therefore calculated on the basis of the provisional figures for 2023 announced in January 2024.

FESTIVALS*

23.1% of all titles selected at ten major international festivals were French (-1.1 point compared with 2022).
256 French films were selected at ten major international festivals (+7.6% more than 2022).
For the third year running, France was the country with the most films selected, screened, and awarded at ten major international festivals.

* The ten festivals studied were: BAFICI, Berlinale, Busan, Cannes, Locarno, Rotterdam, San Sebastian, Sundance, Toronto, and Venice .

SVOD PLATFORMS*

4.6% of films and stand-alone productions available on international SVOD platforms in July 2023 were French (majority-financed).
More than 5,000 French films and stand-alone productions were present on international SVOD platforms in July 2023.
Of the sample of 114 international platforms studied (excluding France), 2.5% of series on SVOD platforms worldwide were French. This makes France the seventh most represented production country for series available on SVOD platforms worldwide.

* Source: Ampere Analysis. 53 countries (excluding), 114 SVOD platforms.

Download the full report below
(available in English and French).

AUDIOVISUAL*

French programs and series stood out internationally in 2023. Here are the most popular titles by genre, based on currently available data:

Fiction: Profilage, particularly on AXN channels in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Animation: Grizzy and the Lemmings, a success not only in Europe, the series is also being shown on the small screen in Australia, Brazil, and Canada.
Documentary: Hollywood's Best Film Directors. The series was boosted to the top of the charts by numerous broadcasts on TCM in the UK.

Not to mention the recognition offered by international awards: A Very Ordinary World won the International Emmy Award for Best Short-Form Series.

* Source: Medialogiq. 14 countries surveyed: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, UK, and USA.