French films at the international box office: April 2012

Rank	Title	Admissions	B.O. Revenues	No. of Prints	No. of Countries	Total Admissions
1	The Intouchables	3,959,887	24,815,470	2,257	15	18,398,600
2	The Artist	457,604	4,033,520	712	16	12,357,940
3	Day Off	359,843	1,205,000	1,300	1	413,936
4	Houba! On the Trail of the Marsupilami	301,138	2,538,128	58	3	301,567
5	All Together	223,813	1,544,662	148	1	244,333
6	Little White Lies	118,164	714,086	91	1	1,026,062
7	Delicacy	93,448	661,206	121	3	222 957
8	The Lady	93,426	732,816	187	10	449,274
9	Premier homme	70,140	430,157	79	1	70,140
10	The Players	68,560	503,871	113	3	228,457
11	My Way	62,993	498,403	47	2	175,133
12	Chicken With Plums	57,366	355,814	42	2	136,275
13	Carnage	55,803	227,834	100	7	3,400,932
14	What's in a Name?	55,661	451,951	44	2	55,661
15	My Worst Nightmare	44,171	278,281	67	2	250,144
16	A Monster in Paris	42,552	308,926	144	2	1,060,888
17	Service Entrance (The Women on the 6th Floor)	38,718	228,835	51	3	941,612
18	The War of the Buttons (II)	37,750	225,357	162	2	178,131
19	Late Bloomers	36,974	234,816	47	1	121,819
20	Sister	31,449	331,504	22	2	31,449

This period has registered exceptional results, bolstered by the success of The The Intouchables and The Artist. Other French-language titles also made their mark in the major European markets. Houba! On the trail of the Marsupilami has put in a fine performance in French-language markets, while All Together charmed German audiences and Little White Lies topped 100,000 admissions in Italy.
The Intouchables has set out to conquer markets outside Europe, notably in North America, with good results anticipated. The upcoming release of Asterix and ObelixAsterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia and Taken 2 in the second half of the year should also contribute to what is expected to be an excellent year for French films in the international arena.

The Intouchables has attracted 8.4 million spectators since it hit the international circuit at the end of 2011. It now ranks as the third most successful French-language film abroad since the early 1990s, behind Amelie (23 million admissions) and The Emperor's Journey (20 million). The film's Asian run is well underway. In South Korea, admissions reached 1.7 million after seven weeks, ranking as the best performance by a French-language film in this market since the early 1990s. In Taiwan theaters for the past six weeks, it has registered close to 100,000 admissions. These results set the film on course for a successful launch in Japan in September.
In other markets, The Intouchables has won over 8 million spectators in Germany, registering a higher score than all of the French titles released in 2011 added together. It has also proved its staying power in Spain and Italy, boasting over 2 million admissions in each market, rating as the most successful French-language film since the beginning of the decade in both countries. It attracted 146,000 spectators in Portugal after five weeks, the sixth best performance by a French-language film since the early 1990s.
Audience reaction in Eastern and Central Europe has been mixed. The film has been acclaimed by moviegoers in Poland, generating 350,000 admissions in four weeks, while results in Russia are mediocre, with 33,000 spectators registered in its opening week despite an ambitious 200-print release.

Day Off was released in China on 1,300 screens and attracted 360,000 spectators in four days. The film has benefited from a second wind thanks to its release in Asia, following a lackluster performance in other international markets, with 46,000 admissions in Belgium and 4,000 admissions in French-speaking Switzerland and in Russia. This scenario is similar to the performance of Paris Express, which generated 680,000 admissions in China in 2011. Here too, its release in Asian markets proved a major boon for a comedy that had initially been offered a limited release with disappointing scores.

Houba! On the Trail of the Marsupilami tallied over 200,000 admissions in Belgium after just three weeks. This is a remarkable score that only 20 French films have achieved since the early years of the decade. Its launch in French-speaking Switzerland was also triumphant, with now over 78,000 admissions registered to this new comedy by Alain Chabat, matching the score of The Artist.

Et si on vivait tous ensemble? continues its highly successful German run. The film now posts a running total of 224,000 admissions after five weeks. By comparison, only five French-language films succeeded in topping 200,000 admissions in Germany in 2011.

Delicacy was released six weeks ago in the United States. This first feature by the Foenkinos brothers has raked in $285,000 (around 37,000 admissions). In the United Kingdom, it ended its third week with 38,000 admissions to its credit, while in Germany it currently tallies close to 50,000 admissions after four weeks. Delicacy has already registered 223,000 admissions outside France, including 58,000 in Russia.

The Lady took $93,000 in its opening week in the USA, a low score for the latest offering from Luc Besson, which has also struggled to find an audience in Europe. The film has nonetheless registered fine results in South East Asia, where it has already pulled in 60,000 spectators in Taiwan, 48,000 in Singapore, and 36,000 in Thailand. The Lady is currently credited with a total of 418,000 admissions in foreign theaters.

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