French films drew 106m international admissions in 2015, UniFrance

French cinema drew 106 million spectators internationally in 2015 with Asia overtaking Europe as its top market, according to an annual report by promotional body UniFrance released on Friday (Jan 15).

Two English-language productions by Luc Besson’s Paris-based EuropaCorp topped the international chart for French cinema with Taken 3 accounting for 43.6m admissions and The Transporter Refuelled coming third with 12.7m entries.

Mark Osbourne’s adaptation of Saint Exupéry’s much-loved children’s classic The Little Prince – produced by Paris-based On Entertainment - came in second with 15 million admissions, making it France’s most successful animation export ever.

This figure is set to rise as the film is only part way through its international release with Paramount Pictures due to launch the film in the US on March 18, and releases also lined up for Canada and the UK, where the release date has yet to be announced.

On Entertainment co-founders Aton Soumache and Dimitri Rassam – who drove the production of The Little Prince – were presented with Unifrance’s annual French Cinema Award, feting French professionals who have made a significant contribution to French cinema’s global reach, during the conference.

In total 515 French films were released internationally for a box office gross of $654m (€600m).

The total export figure of 106m marked a 12% drop on 2014, in which French films posted 120.2 million admissions but UniFrance managing director Isabelle Giordano said the results were still a cause for celebration.

It was the third time the country’s cinema had generated more than 100m admissions in four years and was also the third best year internationally since records began two decades ago.

“These good international results signal our place as the second biggest exporter in the world and are proof that our ecosystem is effective and that it makes sense to support the diversity of our talent,” she said.

Animation sector grows

In a sign of the growing strength of France’s animation sector, French feature-length animation productions accounted for 20% of global admissions in 2015.

Other French animations hitting international screens in 2015 and continuing to travel included Asterix And Obelix: The Mansion Of The Gods (Astérix: Le Domaine De Dieux), Mune (Mune, Le Gardien De La Lune) and Yellowbird (Gus, Petit Oiseau, Grand Voyage.

By chance, the figures coincided with a report by the US-based Animation Career Review citing Paris-based Gobelins, the alumni of which includes Minions and Despicable Me director Pierre Coffin, as the top animation school in the world. Three other French schools featured in the top 10.

Asia overtakes Europe

For the first time since records began, Asia became the top market for French films in 2015 generating 28.9m entries, overtaking Europe where they drew 25.6m spectators.

Top exports Taken 3, The Little Prince and The Transporter Refuelled posted 90% of their admissions in Asia.

China also overtook the US and Canada in terms of tickets sold at 14.7m entries against 14.4m for North America but did not deliver as much revenue. The Chinese gross came in at €70m against €105.7m for North America.

Other important Asian territories included Japan and South Korea, which generated 3.5m and 2.2m spectators for French cinema, respectively.

The rise of Asia, led by China, prompted considerable attention in the French media.

“China is becoming an increasingly important magnet for the world cinema industry and the country could even dethrone Hollywood,” commented the Le Figaro in its resumé of the results.

Lacklustre year in Europe

It was a less than stellar year in Western Europe, although, alongside Eastern and Central Europe, it remained the top market for French-language films accounting for 60% of their admissions.

Overall, French language fare accounted for 42.6 million entries globally, up 22% on 2014.

“It was a rather slow year in Germany (4.7 million entries) and the situation in the UK remains alarming. Italy was the European country to make it into the top five territories this year with 5.2 million entries, thanks to the performance of Serial (Bad) Wedding, La Famille Bélier and Wolf Totem,” read the report.

European and Central Europe accounted for 9.4m entries with popular titles there including The Little Prince, Mune, Astérix: The Mansion Of The Gods and Yellowbird.

Record year in Latin America

The box office for French cinema leapt higher in 2015 in Latin America driven by the growing cinema audience and an increase in screens over the past 12 months.

The region accounted for 21% of the global market generating 22.3m entries.

Standout Latin American territories included Mexico where French films drew 9.4m spectators, up 74% on 2014; Brazil with 5.3m, up 44%, and Colombia with 2.4m, up 116%. The Little Prince led the charge in Mexico and Brazil, beating previous records for a French film in those territories.

Growing importance of international markets

For the second-year running, the international market for French cinema outstripped domestic market which generated 72.5m entries.

In a sign of the importance France attaches to the performance of its cinema internationally, the news conference announcing the results took place at Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development this year in the presence of the current minister Laurent Fabius.

The minister said cinema was a key pillar of France’s cultural and creative industries sector which overall employed more than 1.5 million people and generated an annual €85 billion ($92b).

He added that cinema’s importance was not purely economic but also tied to its soft power for the way in which it projects France’s image and culture internationally.

“Cultural diplomacy is one aspect of France’s global diplomacy and within this cinema plays a key which is why it gives me great pleasure to host this UniFrance event,’ he told the conference.