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 [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Ken Scott (1.5 million), How to Make a Killing by Franck Dubosc (1.47 million), Dog 51 [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Cédric Klapisch
scheda film] by Cédric Klapisch (911,000), The Richest Woman in the World [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Thierry Klifa
scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Carine Tardieu
scheda film] by Carine Tardieu (779,000), The Stranger [+leggi anche:
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intervista: François Ozon
scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Amélie Bonnin (651,000), Dracula by Luc Besson (651,000), Case 137 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Dominik Moll
scheda film] by Dominik Moll (640,000), A Private Life [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Rebecca Zlotowski (611,000), Moon the Panda [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Gilles de Maistre (573,000), À bicyclette ! by Mathias Mlekuz (549,000), Les Condés [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jafar Panahi
scheda film] by Iranian director Jafar Panahi (668,000).

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

Among European films, it is worth noting admissions for the British films Paddington in Peru [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Dougal Wilson (1.85 million admissions), Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Michael Morris (910,000), 28 Years Later [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Danny Boyle (532,000), Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale by Simon Curtis (518,000), The Brutalist [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Óliver Laxe
scheda film] by Spain’s Oliver Laxe (713,000), The Room Next Door [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by his compatriot Pedro Almodovar (609,000), and Sentimental Value [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Joachim Trier
scheda film] by Norwegian Joachim Trier (424,000).