French films at the international box office: June 2011


Rank	Title	Adms.	B.O. Revenues	No. of Prints	No. of Countries	Total Adms.
1	Unknown	313,104	1,980,232	390	6	12,194,155
2	Little White Lies	230,077	1,487,796	145	4	583,979
3	Potiche	148,003	901,617	278	7	1,355,471
4	Service Entrance (The Women on the 6th Floor)	139,845	841,279	106	5	177,735
5	Incendies	138,665	768,690	127	6	466,240
6	The Kid With a Bike	96,735	598,635	80	2	131,433
7	Arthur and the War of the Two Worlds	84,018	485,137	312	4	973,798
8	Nothing to Declare	61,910	547,006	91	5	1,328,336
9	Pina (3D)	37,749	281,876	32	5	290,567
10	The Names of Love	35,246	222,953	69	5	219,065
11	L’élève Ducobu	32,206	206,123	23	1	32,206
12	Micmacs	28,744	189,240	107	2	944,401
13	Little Nicholas	25,000	2,825,584	3	1	2,183,436
14	Yves Saint Laurent - Pierre Bergé, l'amour fou	22,645	128,497	20	2	66,226
15	Tous les soleils	22,184	148,455	22	3	43,971
16	Of Gods and Men	21,602	119,365	62	4	1,917,940
17	Hands Up	20,852	117,709	34	2	21,628
18	Lily Sometimes	20,088	129,173	41	1	60,401
19	Point Blank	19,524	117,913	28	1	41,618
20	Monsieur Papa	15,877	132,663	14	2	15,877

This decline can be attributed to a concentration of films with strong commercial potential released abroad in this period last year (accounting for 65% of all admissions to French films abroad in 2010).
In 2011, the majority of large-scale productions are scheduled for release in the second six months of the year (such as Columbiana, The Lady, The Artist, and Rebellion). This suggests that by the end of the year, the balance may be restored in attendance figures overall compared to 2010. There are also a number of box office successes from 2010 and 2011 which will continue their international runs. Examples include the promising upcoming release of Arthur and the War of the Two Worlds and Oceans in China, as well as the ambitious release (around 500 prints) of Nothing to Declare in Germany.
Nonetheless, it must be noted that admissions to French films in foreign theaters have undergone a structural decline since 2009.

After just two weeks on British screens, Potiche has already attracted 79,000 moviegoers, ranking as the second best performance for a French majority film in 2011 behind Little White Lies, which finished its 7-week run in the UK with 90,000 admissions. Boosted by an increasing number of prints in circulation (up to 40 from 32 the previous week), Potiche maintains its 1,000 spectators-per-print average. These are encouraging results that could allow the film to top 100,000 admissions in upcoming weeks, possibly matching the UK score of Gainsbourg (115,000 admissions in 2010). Potiche now boasts a running total of over 1.3 million admissions abroad. With its upcoming release planned for Australia and Latin America (Brazil, Colombia, Argentina), it looks set to cross the 1.5 million spectators mark in the second six months of 2011.

Nothing to Declare is currently credited with 1.3 million admissions in foreign theaters, bolstered by a spectacular performance in Belgium, where it registered 948,000 admissions, making it the most successful French film released in this territory since Welcome to the Sticks (1.1 million admissions in 2008). Already released in nine territories, it will be launched in Germany late July on around 250 prints. Here too, the previous triumph of Welcome to the Sticks (2.3 million admissions in 2008) raises expectations for a successful run for Nothing to Declare in Germany. The recent success of Little Nicholas (343,000 admissions in 2010) and The Italian (171,000 admissions in 2011) bear witness to the popularity of Kad Mérad across the Rhine.

Little White Lies clocked up fine results in Spain, tallying 206,000 admissions on 135 prints. After five weeks on the screens, it ranks as the third most successful French film in Spain in 2011, after Unknown (516,000 admissions) and Of Gods and Men (233,300 admissions). Of the French films released in 2010, only 7 titles attracted more than 200,000 spectators.
Including all territories to date, Little White Lies now posts a running total of 563,000 admissions in international theaters. Its upcoming release in Germany, the USA, Scandinavian countries, and Portugal should allow it to top the million admissions mark by the end of its run.

Service Entrance ranks in 4th position among the Top 20 titles in June, with close to 140,000 admissions to its credit abroad. The film achieved a large proportion of this score in Italy, where it attracted more than 90,000 admissions in three weeks, on a maximum of 69 prints (in its second week). This is a welcome surprise in the Italian market, which has been somewhat sluggish for French films since the start of the year, with only two French films generating more than 100,000 admissions: Unknown (255,600 admissions) and Heartbreaker (112,600 admissions).
Service Entrance also hit the mark in Quebec, registering over 40,000 admissions in four weeks, ranking as the 6th best score for a French film in this territory in 2011. It looks likely to match, or even outscore, the performance of A Prophet (47,000 admissions in 2010) in upcoming weeks.