24/12/2002

Last 19 December, France’s National Film Center (CNC) published French film attendance data for 2002. The report shows that going to the cinema is a favourite leisure activity in France, with general attendance up although the share of the domestic market occupied by French films fell.
From January to November 2002, 163 million French citizens went to the pictures, a 0.9 per cent increase on the same 11-month period in 2001. November was the strongest month with a reported 7.4 per cent increase in attendance that translates into over 15 million tickets sold, on the same month in 2001. A total of 187.25 million tickets were sold over the last 12 months, a 4.7 per cent increase on 2001.
The reason for this excellent performance is “Hollywood” whose films now occupy 51.4 per cent of the French market, compared to 45.7 per cent in 2001. Fewer Gallic filmgoers are choosing to see domestic productions: 36.9 per cent for 2002 compared to 43.5 per cent in 2001. The Christmas line up will only accentuate this negative downturn when a large number of US blockbusters are scheduled for release. To date, the first two weeks of December saw an ulterior drop for French productions of 10.5 per cent in the domestic market quota.

(Translated from French)