French box office has a strong 2023 with a 19% increase in cinema attendance compared to last year

French cinema operators can enter 2024 with renewed confidence as new figures from the National Cinema Center (CNC) show that audiences are returning to the big screen.

The CNC has recorded 181 million cinema admissions for 2023, an increase of 18.9 percent compared to 2022. However, the national film organization says this figure is about 13.1 percent behind the average attendance in the pre-Covid years between 2017 and 2019 remains First post-Covid year without health restrictions for cinemas in France.

American films topped the French film attendance list in 2023, along with those from Universal The Super Mario Brothers The leader is with 7.15 million visitors, followed by the cultural hit WBD Barbie with 5.80 million and Disney’s Avatar: The Way of Water with 5.18 million. The only local title to make it into the top five was Guillaume Canet’s Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom, the latest in the comedy franchise. The film recorded 4.48 million admissions. Christopher Nolan’s Atom biography Oppenheimer rounded out the top five with 4.39 million.

According to CNC, the market share of French films was 39.8% in 2023. This percentage corresponds to approximately 71.9 in admissions. In 2022 it was 41.1% and between 2017 and 2019 it was 37.2%.

“The attendance of French cinemas in 2023 confirms the strong momentum that started last year. France has achieved the best recovery among comparable countries thanks to the diversity of works on offer, especially French, and the dedication of our cinemas,” said Dominique Boutonnat, president of the CNC.

“Strength Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom, Alibi.com 2, the two parts of The Three Musketeersor of course Anatomy of a fallor All your faces, The animal kingdombut also other successes such as Barbie, Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon And The boy and the heronillustrates how curious and diverse the French audience is.”