CONTENTS
Icon list Balance Sheets et Studies Market indicator of French audiovisual programs on international television: August 2024 2023 annual report on French audiovisual programs on international television
Icon list International box office results French films at the international box office: September 2024
Balance Sheets et Studies
Market indicator of French audiovisual programs on international television: August 2024

Unifrance's 24th publication of its market indicator analyzes broadcasts of French audiovisual programs in five countries Germany, Spain, USA, Italy, United Kingdom in August 2024.

For each territory, the market shares by broadcast time give an overview of the market configuration and the penetration of French titles. In addition, the top three positions and the distribution of French broadcasts by genre allow us to identify the titles that received the highest broadcast ratio over the period.

In the next indicator, which will be published in November, Unifrance will focus its analysis on broadcasts in Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republice, and Sweden in September  2024.

Unifrance members can download the monthly market indicator of French audiovisual programs on international television below (in French only).
2023 annual report on French audiovisual programs on international television

Analysis of 2023 confirms the trends identified the previous year, whether in terms of the overall place occupied by French audiovisual works on TV channels, or in terms of the titles and genres most popular locally.

French audiovisual productions accounted for 11.0% of programs broadcast in Poland – the highest level of any country surveyed – which was ahead of Germany which in turn edged just ahead of Spain (7,8 %). Proportionally, Spain ranked second among the ten countries by number of broadcasts (15.2%) and number of hours (7.6%), but was overtaken in both cases by Italy (16.1% and 9.6% respectively). Sweden was third in the rankings in terms of number of broadcasts (10.5%), just ahead of Poland (10.1%), which joined the top three in terms of number of hours (6.7%). French audiovisual creation also continued to circulate on the small screen outside Europe, as demonstrated by the numerous broadcasts recorded in Australia, Canada, the USA, and Mexico.

Although animation offered fewer programs than other genres in terms of volume, it continued to be bolstered by popular, locally-identified series such as ​Gigantosaurus, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, and Pyjamasques and maintained its popularity with young audiences on the international scene. As for documentaries, the diversity of their subjects and formats ensured their presence on foreign TV channels, keen to shed light on history (such as the Apocalypse collection), the environment and discovery (Amazing Train Journeys) or science (La Science des forces de la nature). Last but not least, dramatic fiction was able to reach all types of broadcasters and audiences worldwide, thanks to its diversified program range and strong IPs. Whether portraits (Bardot, Marie-Antoinette) or police investigations (Candice Renoir, Capitain Marleau, HIP, Leo Mattei - Special Unit, The Paris Murders), the latter often featuring strong female characters, French dramatic fiction managed to secure a prime-time slot.

In addition to television broadcasts, festivals (which are increasingly open to series in their official selections) and awards ceremonies have been added to the mix. In 2023, for example, Ovidie's A Very Ordinary World won the International Emmy for Short Fiction, Parliament – Season 2 won the Rose d'O for Sitcom and Comedy, The Fire within - a Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft picked up the Magnolia Award in Shanghai, and Ukraine, Ice, & Fire was awarded Best Foreign Film at the Golden Gate International Film Festival.

The 2023 annual report can be downloaded below (in French only)
International box office results
French films at the international box office: September 2024

In September 2024, French films were represented in international theaters by over 280 titles already in distribution and over 170 new releases, registering a total of 2.5 million admissions and generating €16.0 million in ticket sales.

 
The Count of Monte Cristo retained its lead position of the most-seen French film in international cinemas in September. A Little Something Extra and Acid took second and third place.
 
# Title No. of Admissions Box Office Revenues (€) No. of Prints No. of Countries Total Admissions Total Revenues
1 The Count of Monte Cristo 725,780 4,293,527 1,853 14 1,594,502 11,966,066
2 A Little Something Extra 205,907 1,836,233 687 7 815,723 8,148,142
3 Acid 113,210 308,786 345 9 557,706 1,788,674
4 Survive 100,096 374,119 754 2 104,132 409,423
5 Week-end à Taipei 76,997 764,925 268 11 76,997 764,,925
6 An Ordinary Case 73,583 536,172 209 3 73,583 536,172
7 King of My Castle 58,260 212,618 798 2 81,502 374,561
8 Argonuts 53,575 393,610 491 3 2,022,537 12,468,469
9 The Taste of Things 51,309 255,102 176 7 1,544,941 12,300,432
10 Riviera Revenge 45,586 340,164 251 5 279,167 2,442,711
11 Wake Up 36,888 105,969 463 7 100,053 308,049
12 Emilia Pérez 36,141 349,885 53 2 61,772 594,199
13 Maria Montessori 30,800 241,986 271 8 463,192 3,959,218
14 The Price Of Money: A Largo Winch Adventure 30,502 141,429 898 3 104,677 529,554
15 Finalement 27,731 174,110 81 1 27,731 174,110
16 Emmanuelle 19,291 174,941 376 5 19,291 174,941
17 Driving Madeleine 17,800 64,593 40 1 840,940 7,159,908
18 The Goldman Case 17,480 131,758 72 4 61,570 440,342
19 Sidonie in Japan 16,797 86,345 84 5 120,731 905,753
20 Marguerite's Theorem 15,274 99,085 95 4 132,603 1,008,232

 

Box office results for French films abroad remain solid

 French films attracted 2.5 million spectators and generated €16.0 million in international box-office revenues in September. The upturn seen in August continued, although attendance fell by 12.2%. The number of new releases fell proportionally, by the same order of magnitude as tickets sold (-12.3%). Digging into details, we discover that majority-French productions attracted 25,000 more moviegoers than in August. It was the performance of minority-French-financed films (-43.2% in one month) that weakened the overall total. International attendance for French films in September reached the fourth highest level of all months in 2024. This was a gratifying score, considering that September is historically the month when the global box-office plunges to its lowest annual level.
And 2024 is no exception to the rule: according to Gower Street, global box office for September pulled in $1.8 billion, making it the lowest grossing month of the last 12. Revenues were 6% below September 2023 and 24% below the 2017-2019 average. In September 2023, French films attracted 3.5 million foreign moviegoers, 1.1 million of whom were captured by Ladybug & Cat Noir Awakening. 

The top three: The Count of Monte Cristo, A Little Something Extra, and Acid. The leading titles remained unchanged by genre and almost identical by film (Riviera Revenge dropped to ninth place). The Count of Monte Cristo retained the crown for the third month running, with 725,000 tickets sold in 14 markets outside France, including 339,000 in Russia (Atmosfera, €1.58 million) and 111,000 in Ukraine (Green Light, €0.46 million). The film adaptation of the historical adventure novel now boasts 323,000 admissions in Belgium & Luxembourg (Alternative, €3.36 million), 268,000 in Spain (Beta Fiction, €1.78 million), and 135,000 in Poland (Kino Swiat, €0.71 million). The Count of Monte Cristo broke the 1.5 million international admissions barrier! The same feat was achieved by The Taste of Things, still anchored in the monthly top 10, as well as Argonuts, which celebrated two million foreign fans, while Acid passed the half-million mark. Thanks to its release in German-speaking territories, A Little Something Extra's international career got back on track, with 147,000 admissions in Germany €1.78 million), 24,000 in Austria (Constantin, €0.24 million), and 11,000 in German-speaking Switzerland (Praesens, €0.9 million). The appeal of genre films for certain audiences seen in August was confirmed in September, with 113,000 and 100,000 people respectively seeing Acid (Latin America) and Survive (Russia and Thailand) on the big screen. An Ordinary Case, King of My Castle, and Wake Up made their first appearance in the monthly top 10. In all, five French films attracted more than 100,000 foreign viewers each in September (including one minority-French production), four were released in more than 10 markets, and 28 others in between five and nine.


Russia, Germany, and Spain: the top three territories in September

 Some 83% of monthly viewers were located in Europe, with only 17% outside the continent's borders. In Central and Eastern Europe and in Africa and the Near and Middle East, audiences were higher than in August, while they fell in all other regions (between -50% and -60% in the Americas, Asia, and Oceania). Acid was the only title to attract more than 100,000 moviegoers outside Europe: thanks to this film's solid run, Peru remained in the top 10 territories (#8), the only non-European country to make it there. More than 0.5 million tickets sold (20.9% of the monthly total) enabled Russia to move to the top of the territories and replace Germany (which moved into second position, 10.5%). Seven foreign territories (seven in August, four in July and June, eight in May, seven in April, 14 in March, 13 in February and six in January) offered more than 100,000 admissions each to French productions in September, and accounted for two-thirds of the monthly total.


Animation, comedy, and drama moved to the forefront

  In September, animation regained its leadership and contributed a third of total admissions, buoyed by 129,000 tickets for the minority-French production Panda Bear in Africa. "Reliable" comedy and drama rounded out the podium, with the former boosted by new releases of A Little Something Extra. Fantasy/horror/science fiction also gained fans, and was the only genre to have two titles in its ranks generating over 100,000 admissions each: Acid and Survive. Majority-French productions (80.4% of total admissions) and French-language productions (80.1%) still accounted for the lion's share of the month's admissions. More than 0.4 million admissions went to arthouse films (16.8% of the monthly total), led by The Taste of Things, Emilia Pérez, and Maria Montessori.


French films at international festivals in September 2024

In September, French cinema was once again well represented at international festivals, as The Story of Souleymane demonstrated. In addition to TIFF where it was selected in the Centerpiece strand, Boris Lojkine's social thriller traveled to four other festivals, from the Villa Medici Film Festival, to the Pingyao International Film Festival, via the Helsinki International Film Festival and the Hamburg International Film Festival At Pingyao, Lojkine was even awarded the Roberto Rossellini Award for Best Director. In a different register, When Fall Is Coming was unanimously acclaimed at its world premiere at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. The film won François Ozon the Best Screenplay Award and Pierre Lottin the Best Supporting Performance Award (photo). Lottin was also on hand to represent Emmanuel Courcol's The Marching Band, selected in the Perlak strand.

This report can be downloaded in PDF format below (French version only).

This report is based on results recorded on October 15, 2024. 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.