In December 2024, French films were represented in international theaters by over 260 titles already in distribution and over 150 new releases, registering a total of 2.0 million admissions and generating €16.4 million in ticket sales.
Emilia Pérez took the top position as the French film the most seen in international theaters in December. The Marching Band and Monsieur Aznavour took second and third place.
# | Title | No. of Admissions | Box Office Revenues (€) | No. of Prints | No. of Countries | Total Admissions | Total Revenues |
1 | Emilia Pérez | 230,038 | 1,767,710 | 559 | 11 | 413,751 | 3,477,003 |
2 | The Marching Band | 193,600 | 1,696,707 | 425 | 8 | 198,782 | 1,765,735 |
3 | Monsieur Aznavour | 133,169 | 1,205,109 | 268 | 9 | 254,263 | 2,362,463 |
4 | The Count of Monte Cristo | 129,192 | 714,578 | 425 | 16 | 3,434,495 | 21,224,431 |
5 | All We Imagine as Light | 97,949 | 949,469 | 234 | 14 | 193,845 | 1,724,483 |
6 | Animal Tales of Christmas Magic | 60,856 | 338,533 | 614 | 14 | 99,015 | 552,805 |
7 | When Fall Is Coming | 49,817 | 306,109 | 114 | 4 | 116,816 | 956,240 |
8 | Out of Season | 48,631 | 371,274 | 125 | 4 | 230,412 | 1,902,727 |
9 | Family Therapy | 39,215 | 393,048 | 63 | 3 | 39,215 | 393,048 |
10 | Beating Hearts | 26,497 | 279,541 | 97 | 3 | 248,946 | 2,951,880 |
11 | Christmas Carole | 22,135 | 188,194 | 134 | 4 | 35,019 | 295,133 |
12 | Survive | 22,051 | 77,314 | 114 | 4 | 352,662 | 1,224,609 |
13 | Kina & Yuk | 21,556 | 91,008 | 170 | 3 | 179,124 | 1,130,892 |
14 | Saint-Exupery | 15,953 | 122,641 | 190 | 4 | 15,953 | 122,641 |
15 | Meet the Leroys | 15,063 | 133,343 | 84 | 2 | 25,684 | 239,765 |
16 | The Most Precious of Cargoes | 12,833 | 105,556 | 39 | 3 | 19,947 | 180,629 |
17 | A Little Something Extra | 12,388 | 107,183 | 127 | 4 | 894,241 | 8,833,420 |
18 | Emmanuelle | 11,978 | 59,005 | 339 | 6 | 62,986 | 398,635 |
19 | Holy Cow | 8,846 | 89,577 | 34 | 2 | 8,846 | 89,577 |
20 | The Umbrellas of Cherbourg | 8,480 | 82,127 | 15 | 3 | 271,069 | 1,415,907 |
Box-office for French films abroad down slightly
French films registered nearly 2.0 million admissions and generated €16.4 million in ticket sales in foreign theaters in December. Although not dropping below the two million mark constantly exceeded since August, admissions were down by almost 23% on the previous month. It should be pointed out that November's results were based on five launch weekends: thus, if we spread the overall attendance over the two months (November + December), we discover a certain stability in admissions between the last nine weeks of 2024. Majority-French and French-language productions generated the most tickets sold, but only minority-French productions attracted more moviegoers than in November (+40%), while French-language productions saw the smallest decline in the number of moviegoers (-4%). The most popular French title outside France in December was the multi-awarded Flow (250,000 admissions), which made its international debut at the same time as another minority-French production, The Return. In all, six French films attracted over 100,000 foreign viewers each in September, 6 were released in more than 10 markets, and 13 others in between five and nine.
Focusing on predominantly French productions, we discover a completely refreshed top three titles consisting of Emilia Pérez, The Marching Band, and Monsieur Aznavour. After dominating the rankings for five months in a row, The Count of Monte Cristo slipped to fourth place, although it is one of the French titles to have attracted over 100,000 moviegoers each, and the only one to be shown in 16 different markets. Last year's Cannes award-winning musical came out on top with 230,000 tickets sold, including 141,000 in Spain (Wanda, €0.91 million) and a further 70,000 in Germany (Neue Visionen, 116,000 and €1.07 million overall). Emilia Pérez has already sold over 400,000 tickets internationally (€3.48 million), and will be arriving in Latin America at the end of January. Although this feat was only achieved at the very end of December, it was so impressive that it catapulted the film straight to the podium's second position. The Marching Band attracted 84,000 Germans in its first week (Neue Visionen, €0.76 million) and 8,000 Austrians (Filmladen, €0.07 million). This was the third-best start for 2024 in Germany! Thanks to good word-of-mouth, The Marching Band sold 40,000 tickets in Italy (Movies Inspired, €0.25 million), including almost 15,000 in the fourth week of release – more than double the number sold on release! Monsieur Aznavour completed the top three. In addition to a solid run on the big screen in Quebec (Sphère, 61,000 admissions and €0.45 million in total), the biopic was a sensation in The Netherlands with 71,000 admissions (Paradiso, €0.74 million). No other French production was so warmly welcomed in this market in 2024! The top 10 once again welcomed All We Imagine as Light (progressing up to almost 100,000 admissions, Animal Tales of Christmas Magic (also moving up in the rankings since November), and Beating Hearts, saw the return of Out of Season and When Fall Is Coming, and the first appearance of Family Therapy.
The United States, Spain, and Germany: the top three territories in December 2024
69% of monthly moviegoers were in Europe, and 31% outside the region. Admissions in the Near and Middle East, North America, Oceania, and Western Europe were higher than in November, while they fell in other regions. Quite exceptionally in recent years, North America stood out as the second most popular region in terms of ticket sales, behind Western Europe. Minority-French productions Flow (224,000 admissions) and The Return (69,000), and The Count of Monte Cristo (55,000) were the titles the most seen outside Europe. These three titles put the USA & English-speaking Canada at the top of the list of territories where French cinema was most popular (363,000 admissions, 18%), ahead of Spain (252,000, 12%) and Germany (228,000, 11%). Seven foreign territories (five in November and October, seven in September and August, four in July and June, eight in May) each provided more than 100,000 admissions for French productions in December, representing two-thirds of the monthly total.
Comedy, drama, and animation were the most popular genres
In December, French comedies accounted for 0.6 million international admissions (30% of the total), and returned to the international scene buoyed by the exploits of Emilia Pérez and The Marching Band. The first two genres mentioned, as well as biopics/history, could count on more ticket sales than in November, and each benefited from one (or even two, in the case of comedy) ambassadors who attracted over 100,000 spectators (as did action/adventure). In conclusion, 1.2 million admissions went to arthouse films (61% of the monthly total!), their best monthly total since March 2024! Flow led the group, followed by Emilia Pérez, The Marching Band, All We Imagine as Light, and Animal Tales of Christmas.
French films at international film festivals in December 2024
The Göteborg International Film Festival (January 24 – February 2, 2025) will honor Julie Delpy with the Honorary Dragon Award 2025. Her latest feature, Meet The Barbarians, will be presented at an exclusive screening followed by a Q&A on January 29. The film will be accompanied by a retrospective of her iconic works, including Lolo, Three Colours : White, and Two Days in Paris. Meet the Barbarians launched at the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival in September 2024, where it was the opening film (photo below). It went on to enjoy an international career at over 10 festivals, including the Seville European Film Festival, the Turin Film Festival, the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
This report can be downloaded in PDF format below (French version only).
> This report is based on results recorded on January 9, 2025. 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.
Study
Unifrance - Analyse mensuelle - Décembre 2024