27/03/2003

Stagnation or the first signs of decay? The statistics for French cinematographic production in 2002, published on March 11 by the National Film Centre (CNC) have confirmed the rumours going round the industry for the last few months, that the triumphant machine of French cinema has run out of steam.

After a record 2001 seeing the production of 204 films (172 of which were French born and bred), there were 200 feature length films made in the year 2002 (out of which 163 were initiated France). This step backwards could be compared with a simple air pocket at the high altitude reached in 2001. The considerable drop in investments in 2002 (down 4.9% out of a total of Euro 860,72 million) leaves no doubt about the reality of a certain turbulence that is shaking the foundations of French cinema. On the other hand, if you count the months of work from the beginning of a film production to its cinema release (from 18 to 24), the signs of a drop in production increase; since 2002 many producers have not been able to finance feature length films due out in 2005.
And it’s also true that French cinema has known particularly fortunate times, given that b>there were 115 films produced in 1994, as opposed to the 204 in 2001 and at the same time, funding went from Euro 501m to Euro 904m. It was an important growth that favoured all the operators in the sector, guaranteeing a diversity in production and the renovation of talent.
In 2002, the 67 first works produced, which represent 41% of the feature length films made through French initiatives, confirm this dynamism.

Nevertheless, this creativity hides the the chasm that has opened up between the big productions and the medium to low budget films . Actually, if the average cost of a French feature length film was Euro 4.44m in 2002, the 26 films that cost more than 7m, (which represent 16% of production) use up half of all investments. In addition, the Leclerc report on funding, delivered on February 3 to the Minister for Culture, shows that the number of small budget films (there were 41 that cost less than Euro 1m) has dropped by 20% from 1999 onwards, representing only 2.6% of financing. The average budget for a feature length film (between Euro 1-7m) is also in decline, with a 10% reduction in costs over the last three years.
This structure of a two-speed cinema also has an influence on attendances: in 2001, 100 of the French initiatives out of a total of 170, didn’t get an audience of more than 100,000.

One of the main causes for this tendency appears to be a strategy to minimise commercial risks on the part of producers, distributors and the operators in the sector. The films are made according to the following formula "action + star = almost guaranteed profitability", a genre of production that monopolises the major part of private funding. Using the same logic, the distribution of a film in as many screens as possible at the same time, has led to a drop in the exposure time for productions (2 weeks for a flop and 2 months for a hit) and has sparked off an inflation in promotional costs (around Euro 500,000 for an average French film). This is why the French independents can’t compete on equal terms with the American majors.