By SudOuest.fr with AFP
Attendance at French cinemas increased by 47% in 2021. The return of the public allows most cinemas to keep their heads above water. The popularity gap between French and American films has rarely been so narrow
French cinemas have limited breakage in 2021, according to figures released this Thursday, December 30 by the National Cinematography Center (CNC). With 96 million spectators, the sector shows an increase in attendance of 47% compared to 2020.
Despite the months of closure and the sanitary measures, dark rooms seem to have their heads above water with attendance down by only a quarter (23%) over the only months of opening if we compare it to 2019, last year without a pandemic.
France is behind Hollywood
A “dynamic accentuated at the end of the year”, notes the CNC. In December, attendance was “close to normal”, with 20.43 million admissions, against 22.68 million in 2019. The year was marked by a fine performance by French cinema (4 admissions out of 10), drawn by “Kaamelot”, “BAC Nord” or “Les Tuche 4”.
The behemoth American films “Spider-Man”, “James Bond” and “Dune” attract a little more audiences. The gap is one of the smallest observed over the past ten years. According to the CNC, “France is the country with the smallest drop in cinema attendance among the 5 major European countries”.
The Top 10 at the box office in France in 2021
Here are the 10 films that achieved the most admissions in French theaters in 2021, according to figures from Cbo-Box Office.
1. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” – 4,604,615 entries
2. “Die can wait” – 4,003,023 entries
3. “Dune” – 3,163,453 entries
4. “Kaamelott – First section” – 2,652,314 entries
5. “Bac Nord” – 2,218,308 entries
6. “Encanto, the fantastic Madrigal family” – 2,187,435 admissions
7. “Fast & Furious 9” – 2,025,112 entries
8. “Les Tuche 4” – 1,938,949 admissions
9. “Conjuring: under the influence of the devil” – 1.887.284 entries
10. “Black Widow” – 1,717,172 entries