19/11/2002

Following a somewhat subdued summer, the number of French movie-goers is now increasing. According to the latest estimates made by the research and documentation services of the National Center of Cinematography, about 16 million movie tickets were sold during the month of October, indicating a 7.3 per cent increase over the same period last year.
This increase was due partly by the success of Michel Blanc’s film entitled Embrassez qui vous voulez, which brought more than 1 million spectators to cinemas during only three weeks of October. Results: a renewed bottom line for this year, with a total of 154 million admissions during the first ten months of 2002, or a 4 per cent increase over the first months of 2001. Better still, are the admissions figures recorded for the past twelve months that demonstrate a 7.3 per cent increase for a total of 191.7 spectators.
However, these numbers will not suffice in order to convince national producers to maintain the record levels seen during 2001 or to compensate the advantage in market quotas held by American films. During the first ten months of 2002, French films held an estimated 39 per cent of the market, compared to 43.1 per cent during the same period one year ago, while American works recorded 49.9 per cent of admissions, up from 46.4 per cent in 2001.

(Translated from French)