Results for French films in theaters abroad at the start of the year can be largely attributed to a string of auteur films and the continued release of blockbusters from 2012.
| Rank | Title | No. of Admissions | B. O. Revenues | No. of Prints | No. of Countries | Total Admissions |
| 1 | Love | 714,333 | 4,650,298 | 446 | 16 | 1,711,390 |
| 2 | Taken 2 | 513,959 | 4,531,391 | 568 | 8 | 47,758,914 |
| 3 | Rust & Bone | 335,209 | 2,165,577 | 332 | 7 | 950,291 |
| 4 | Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia | 195,944 | 1,390,140 | 454 | 6 | 3,408,370 |
| 5 | The Intouchables | 124,348 | 1,024,070 | 238 | 10 | 30,673,265 |
| 6 | The Artist | 113,871 | 487,520 | 212 | 4 | 13,335,264 |
| 7 | Ernest & Celestine | 63,964 | 509,599 | 105 | 4 | 109,410 |
| 8 | Paris-Manhattan | 54,148 | 219,559 | 13 | 3 | 222,242 |
| 9 | Haute Cuisine | 45,852 | 325,494 | 101 | 4 | 127,204 |
| 10 | Holy Motors | 37,644 | 202,026 | 83 | 7 | 249,814 |
| 11 | Capital | 36,770 | 257,039 | 19 | 2 | 188,632 |
| 12 | The Other Son | 27,209 | 150,404 | 22 | 4 | 189,615 |
| 13 | On The Other Side of The Tracks | 24,876 | 301,599 | 13 | 1 | 31,370 |
| 14 | In the House | 24,299 | 168,485 | 75 | 5 | 464,921 |
| 15 | What's in a Name | 21,390 | 115,541 | 12 | 3 | 827,678 |
| 16 | Renoir | 21,059 | 199,735 | 32 | 3 | 21,059 |
| 17 | Populaire | 20,856 | 202,994 | 49 | 3 | 56,067 |
| 18 | Something in the Air | 18,778 | 114,349 | 34 | 1 | 24,394 |
| 19 | On the Road | 18,556 | 106,947 | 131 | 5 | 869,754 |
| 20 | Magasin des suicides | 17,520 | 108,713 | 18 | 1 | 32,992 |
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Results for French films outside France for January, 2013, can be partly credited to a number of auteur films (Love, Rust & Bone, Saveurs du Palais, Capital, and Holy Motors) and also to the late or continued release of blockbusters from 2012 (Taken 2, The Intouchables, and The Artist). This combination explains the relatively low figures overall for the first month of 2013 (3.5 million admissions) compared to previous years, due to the absence of a newly released major hit to bolster results. French-language films' share of overall admissions reached 54%, with majority French productions claiming 70% of the market.
Love attracted over 600,000 spectators in January, including 250,000 admissions in the USA/English-speaking Canada. Starting out with 3 prints in circulation for the first 4 weeks, the film's North American distributor Sony Classics opted for a platform release, finally reaching 64 prints in its 7th week. Ticket sales have now hit $2 million since its release (around 263,000 admissions). Boosted by its Golden Globes win and the announcement of its nomination for an Academy Award in 5 categories, Love has held its ground for 6 weeks in the Top 5 at the North American box office in terms of admissions per print, thanks to its restricted release. This strategy was already employed by Sony Classics in 2010 for the release of Michael Haneke's previous Palme d’Or winner, The White Ribbon, which raked in $2.2 million (around 300,000 spectators).
In Quebec, Love was also distributed on a platform release. After sitting at just 2 prints for three weeks, its release was extended to 12 prints with positive results. The film reached a total of 26,000 admissions after one month.
In Spain, Love has pulled in 133,000 admissions after 4 weeks, a noteworthy performance for an auteur film in this market, although its results are unlikely to match those of The White Ribbon, which registered 283,000 admissions in 2010.
Released in Brazil by Imovision, it has put in an outstanding performance, with 108,000 admissions registered in just 2 weeks, equivalent to the final results of Potiche and Certified Copy in this market.
Love continues to win over audiences in the Netherlands, posting 172,000 admissions after 11 weeks, ranking as the 4th best performance by a French-language film in this market since the early 2000s, behind The Intouchables (1.2 million admissions), Sarah's Key (492,000 admissions), and Amelie (319,000 admissions).
Love is currently credited with close to 1.7 million spectators in international theaters.
Released in Japan mid-January, Taken 2 once again reiterates its status as the most successful French film abroad, attracting 346,000 spectators in 3 weeks—a score that rivals that of the first episode, which registered 358,000 admissions in 7 weeks in 2009.
Still showing in the USA (17.5 million admissions), the Netherlands (191,000 admissions), and New Zealand (271,000 admissions), Taken 2 posts a running total of just under 47.8 million admissions outside France.
Rust & Bone pulled in an additional 335,000 spectators in international theaters in January. In Germany, it has put in an encouraging performance after four weeks, with 100,000 spectators registered from a maximum release of 76 prints. It looks set to reach 140,000 admissions before the end of its run, which would match the final results of Romantic Anonymous (141,000 admissions in 2011), When Pigs Have Wings (144,000 admissions in 2012), and The Chef (145,000 admissions in 2012).
In the USA/English-speaking Canada, Rust & Bone has struggled to keep up audience figures in the long term, with the gradual increase in the number of prints release halted in its 9th week to remain at 168 prints, from which it has taken $343,000. This is a disappointing performance which has resulted in a decrease in the number of prints in circulation. Rust & Bone nonetheless currently boasts ticket sales of $1.8 million, and in February will outshine the results of the director Jacques Audiard's previous hit A Prophet, which amassed $2 million in 2010 (around 280,000 admissions). In Quebec, its results are already on par with those of A Prophet, registering 47,000 admissions in 7 weeks.
Rust & Bone has now registered close to 950,000 admissions abroad.
Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia registered a somewhat lackluster opening in Italy, pulling in just under 120,000 admissions from an ambitious 428-print release. Its results quickly declined, with attendance hitting 190 000 by the end of its third week. Results for the three previous installments of the series appear to indicate waning interest for the Asterix & Obelix franchise in Italy. The first episode, Asterix and Obelix versus Caesar attracted 1.5 million moviegoers in 1999, while three years later, Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra recorded 770,000 admissions, followed by Asterix at the Olympic Games and its 590,000 admissions in 2008. After Germany (330,000 admissions) and Spain (165,000 admissions), the Italian release of the latest Asterix film once again did not meet expectations. Among markets in which the series has proved successful, only Poland posted results similar to the previous episodes, with close to 500,000 admissions registered.
Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia currently totals 3.4 million admissions abroad.
Capital achieved fine results in Greece, the homeland of its director Costa-Gavras. It reached 27,000 admissions in just 3 weeks, a performance that matches the final score registered in this market by Habemus Papam (27,000 admissions in 5 weeks in 2011) and Coco Before Chanel (28,000 admissions in 6 weeks in 2010). However, The Capital is not likely to outshine the excellent performance of the director's previous hit, Eden is West, which finished its run in Greece with 82,000 admissions in 2009.
The Capital has also charmed Spanish audiences, attracting over 141,000 spectators after 13 weeks on the screens. This is the most impressive score for a Costa-Gavras film in Spain since Amen, which in 2003 registered the 5th best score for a French film in this market, with 176,000 admissions to its credit.
The Capital currently tallies 190,000 admissions in international theaters.
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