'God Save The Tuche'

Source: Pathe

‘God Save The Tuche’

The French box office fell 4% in February year on year to 14.48 million admissions, according to CNC estimates.

So far this year, total admissions are 28 million, 1.7% less than the same period in 2024. Ticket sales reached €104.8m in February and €202.7m since January based on an average ticket price of €7.24.

The month’s top titles had British connections, with the number one spot taken by comedy God Save The Tuche (Pathe), a French production about a family experiencing culture shock as they meet British royalty, with 2.4m admissions.

Paddington in Peru (Studiocanal) took the second top spot with 1.3 million and Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy (Studiocanal) boasted the fifth best tally of the month with 614,000 tickets sold after two weeks in cinemas.

Disney titles rounded out the top five with Captain America: Brave New World selling 1 million tickets after two weeks and A Complete Unknown 875,600 tickets over a four-week period.

There were notable arthouse successes, with The Brutalist (Universal) taking 258,600 after two weeks and Karine Tardieu’s The Ties That Bind Us (L’Attachement) opening with 264,180 after just one week for Diaphana.

My Favorite Cake (Arizona) has sold 100,000 tickets after three weeks as the film’s directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha face trial in Iran. Arizona recently launched a petition in support of the filmmakers.

Despite the small drop this year, ticket sales over the past 12 months (March 2024- February 2025) are up 2.4% to 180.5 million admissions (€1.3bn).

“French films are once again proving their appeal, with a market share over the last 12 months that remains high at 43.4%, compared with 39.4% for American productions, particularly with the latest instalment in the Tuche franchise, and a wide variety of auteur films”, the CNC’s just-appointed new president Gaëtan Bruel said of the figures.

56 films were released for the first time in France over February’s four weeks, on par with last year’s 55 titles.

Local titles to be released in March include Treasure Hunters: On The Tracks Of Khufu (SND), Off To India (Studiocanal), and Enya Baroux’s Bon Voyage Marie (Zinc).

Bong Joon-Ho’s Mickey 17 (Warner Bros), Steven Soderbergh’s The Insider (Universal) and Marc Webb’s Snow White (Disney) are also aiming to woo audiences this month.

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