07/01/2026 - With 156.79 million cinema-goers last year, French cinemas recorded disappointing results, even though they remain by far the leading European market

The CNC's estimates reveal that 2025 was a mixed bag, if not a little depressing, for cinemas in France. With 156.79 million admissions, attendance fell by 13.4% compared to the previous year, with only two months (January and December) showing a very slight increase.

This is the lowest annual audience figure since 1999, excluding the 2020-2022 pandemic period, which has dampened hopes of a return to post-Covid normality raised by the figures for 2023 and 2024 (around 180 million). This is the lowest annual audience figure since 1999, excluding the 2020-2022 pandemic period, which has dampened hopes of a return to post-Covid normality raised by the figures for 2023 and 2024 (around 180 million). The underperformance of 2025 has provoked mixed reactions, with some attributing it to a simple lack of popular American and French films, and others to an overabundance of offerings in cinemas, confusing potential viewers in a context of fierce competition for content (streaming platforms, YouTube, etc.), and tensions over purchasing power (the debate over high ticket prices being carefully obscured by cinemas grappling with numerous difficulties: energy costs, rents, etc.). One thing is certain, however: overall, all types of films underperformed in 2025. It remains to be seen whether this is a temporary blip or the start of a fundamental trend.

As a consolation, it should be noted that France remains the European pillar of cinema attendance, with Germany, Italy and Spain ending 2025 with an estimated 85, 68 and 65 million admissions respectively. And with 37.7%, the French cinema market share on its own territory remains more than enviable and reflects a very rich diversity of local works, with American films accounting for 35.8% of admissions in France last year and feature films from the rest of the world accounting for 26.5%.

American blockbusters dominated the French box office in 2025, with nine titles in the top 10, including Zootopia 2 (6.54 million admissions), Lilo & Stitch (5.16 million) and Avatar: The Way of Water (5.05 million in 15 days). Only one French film broke this hegemony, with Jean-Paul Rouve's comedy God Save The Tuche (2.99 million) coming in sixth place.

Four other French films (compared to 10 in total the previous year) passed the one million admissions mark: Once Upon My Mother [+see also:
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film profile] by Ken Scott (1.5 million), How to Make a Killing by Franck Dubosc (1.47 million), Dog 51 [+see also:
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film profile] by Cédric Jimenez (1.38 million) and Kaamelott: Second Instalment: Part 1 by Alexandre Astier (1.02 million).

Eighteen French films attracted between 500,000 and 1 million admissions, a bracket that has become synonymous with success, whereas previously it was considered merely a respectable performance: The Bodins're Going Off the Rails by Frédéric Forestier (955,000 admissions), Colours of Time [+see also:
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interview: Cédric Klapisch
film profile] by Cédric Klapisch (911,000), The Richest Woman in the World [+see also:
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interview: Thierry Klifa
film profile] by Thierry Klifa (907,000), C’était mieux demain by Vinciane Millereau (888,000), Open Season 2 by Antonin Fourlon and Frédéric Forestier (820,000), The Ties that Bind Us [+see also:
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interview: Carine Tardieu
film profile] by Carine Tardieu (779,000), The Stranger [+see also:
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interview: François Ozon
film profile] by François Ozon (752,000), Class Reunion by Jérôme Commandeur (724,000), Y’a pas de réseau by Édouard Pluvieux (705,000), Leave One Day [+see also:
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film profile] by Amélie Bonnin (651,000), Dracula by Luc Besson (651,000), Case 137 [+see also:
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interview: Dominik Moll
film profile] by Dominik Moll (640,000), A Private Life [+see also:
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film profile] by Rebecca Zlotowski (611,000), Moon the Panda [+see also:
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film profile] by Gilles de Maistre (573,000), À bicyclette ! by Mathias Mlekuz (549,000), Les Condés [+see also:
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film profile] by Nordine Salhi and Ryad Luc Montel (525,000), A Nun in the City by Frédéric Quiring (511,000) and Bon voyage, Marie by Enya Baroux (502,000). And let's not forget the French Oscar nominee It Was Just an Accident [+see also:
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interview: Jafar Panahi
film profile] by Iranian director Jafar Panahi (668,000).

Also worth noting are the admission scores for Zion by Nelson Foix (472,000), The Quiet Son [+see also:
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interview: Delphine and Muriel Coulin
film profile] by Delphine and Muriel Coulin (466,000), the documentary Sacré Cœur (465,000), the animation film Arco [+see also:
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interview: Ugo Bienvenu
film profile] by Ugo Bienvenu (449,000), The Little Sister [+see also:
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interview: Hafsia Herzi
film profile] by Hafsia Herzi (399,000), The Piano Accident [+see also:
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interview: Quentin Dupieux
film profile] by Quentin Dupieux (387,000) and the documentary Whispers in the Woods [+see also:
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interview: Vincent Munier
film profile] by Vincent Munier (381,000 in 15 days).

Among European films, it is worth noting admissions for the British films Paddington in Peru [+see also:
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film profile] by Dougal Wilson (1.85 million admissions), Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Michael Morris (910,000), 28 Years Later [+see also:
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film profile] by Danny Boyle (532,000), Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale by Simon Curtis (518,000), The Brutalist [+see also:
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film profile] by American director Brady Corbet (489,000), as well as the German animated feature films Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog by Benjamin Mousquet (840,000) and Grand Prix of Europe by Waldemar Fast (439,000), the Cannes award-winning Sirāt [+see also:
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interview: Óliver Laxe
film profile] by Spain’s Oliver Laxe (713,000), The Room Next Door [+see also:
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film profile] by his compatriot Pedro Almodovar (609,000), and Sentimental Value [+see also:
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interview: Joachim Trier
film profile] by Norwegian Joachim Trier (424,000).

(Translated from French)