10/01/2007

French cinema ended 2006 on a high note with domestic films accounting for 45% of the 188.45m admissions in cinemas, according to statistics published Tuesday by the Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC).

This 32.2% increase from 2005 makes 2006 one of the best years for French features since 1984. French cinema finished a hair’s breadth from its US competitors, who occupy a 45.8% market share.

Sixteen French films exceeded the 2m admissions mark (compared to five in 2005), seven of which attracted more than 3m filmgoers (compared to one in 2005 – see news January 4, 2006). Moreover, US productions had their worst box office year in a decade, with only three features attracting over 3m filmgoers and seven over 2m.

In 2006, 39 French films drew over 500,000 cinemagoers, while 18 exceeded the million admissions mark. However, the French/US duel has done collateral damage, as productions from other countries represented only 9.2% of the market, compared to 17.3% in 2005 and 13.7% in 2004. Last year’s absence of titles like Harry Potter is considered to have been an important contributing factor to this drop.

In total, attendance in French cinemas grew by 7.5% in 2006 when compared to 2005, making it the second best result in the last 20 years after the 2004 record (195.53m). However, the second quarter lacked the dynamism of the first quarter of the year. December in particular recorded only 20.75m admissions, down 12.3% from the same period in 2005.

(Translated from French)