In 2022, 152 million cinema tickets were sold in France. Since the beginning of the 2000s, the number of cinema ticket sold in the country kept increasing and peaked at more than 213.2 million in 2019. 2020 recorded the lowest value yet due to the coronavirus pandemic that led to the closure of cinemas.
A growing industry
Just like the number of ticket sales, the number of seats has increased in the country and reached 1.15 million mark in 2021, compared to 1.05 in 2009. In 2020, there were more than 6,000 active cinema screen in France, also a growing number over the past decade. But screens are not the only increasing element within the French cinema industry: the number of feature films produced in France is also growing. Proud of its so-called “cultural exception”, France produced 287 national feature movies in 2022, while local movies represent a significant part of ticket sales in the country.
Moviegoers in France
In a survey from 2023, almost half of French people declared that they went to the movies at least once every month. Despite the development of online streaming, the French seem to enjoy the experience of going to a movie theater. In 2022, Avatar: The Way of Water, the most successful movie in France, recorded almost 95 million euros of box office revenue. If elderly viewers enjoy French movies more, it appears that younger generations have a clear preference for American ones.
Cinema ticket sales in France from 2003 to 2022
(in million tickets sold)
This statistic does not include attendance at film clubs, film libraries or movie festivals, which would represent between four and five percent of the calculated attendance.
Furthermore, this statistic only takes into account paid admissions to commercial cinemas, namely movie tickets to feature films, short films or screenings of an art performance or audiovisual program that generated revenue for the distributor.
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Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée. (April 28, 2023). Cinema ticket sales in France from 2003 to 2022 (in million tickets sold) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved September 20, 2024, from https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/386175/cinema-admissions-in-france/
Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée. "Cinema ticket sales in France from 2003 to 2022 (in million tickets sold)." Chart. April 28, 2023. Statista. Accessed September 20, 2024. https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/386175/cinema-admissions-in-france/
Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée. (2023). Cinema ticket sales in France from 2003 to 2022 (in million tickets sold). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: September 20, 2024. https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/386175/cinema-admissions-in-france/
Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée. "Cinema Ticket Sales in France from 2003 to 2022 (in Million Tickets Sold)." Statista, Statista Inc., 28 Apr 2023, https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/386175/cinema-admissions-in-france/
Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, Cinema ticket sales in France from 2003 to 2022 (in million tickets sold) Statista, https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/386175/cinema-admissions-in-france/ (last visited September 20, 2024)
Cinema ticket sales in France from 2003 to 2022 (in million tickets sold) [Graph], Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, April 28, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/386175/cinema-admissions-in-france/