Riding high on the performance of Belphegor and Yamakasi, French films captured 67% of the market this week, with a cumulated share of 48% since January 1st this year.
With the simultaneous release of Belphegor, Phantom of the Louvre by Jean-Paul Salomé and Yamakasi by Ariel Zeitoun (the first film distributed by Luc Besson's outfit, Europa Corp.), the week of April 4 through 10 gave another boost to French cinema, currently forging ahead on its home territory. During this week, French films secured 67% of the market (against 31% for U.S. films). Several other French productions also played a part in these fine results, including La Tour Montparnasse infernale, A Crime in Paradise, Mercredi, folle journée!, Intimacy, Mademoiselle and Would I Lie to You? 2, all featuring among the week's top 15 films. And so, as we head into the second quarter of 2001, French films are sitting pretty with a 48% share of the market since the beginning of the year – well and truly above the usual average for this period, generally hovering around the 30% mark.
