Jan 22, 2024

French cinema, the best year abroad before the pandemic, thanks to feature-length animated films like "Miracle" and "Epic."

According to Unifrance, the French film promotion organization, 2023 was the biggest year for French film exports since the pandemic, led by Jeremy Zag's "Miracle: Ladybugs and Cats Noir, The Movie."

According to a report by Unifrance, French films drew 37.4 million people abroad in 2023 and grossed €234 million ($255 million). This represented a 38.5% increase from the previous year, but these totals were still below pre-Covid levels.In 2019, French cinema drew 45.9 million viewers.

Miraculous: Ladybug and the Cat Noir, The Movie was the largest French export by an overwhelming margin in 2023. The film sold 7.15 million tickets abroad and grossed €31.8 million ($34.6 million) from 26 territories. The next closest film on the French export list was Asterix and Obelix/Middle of the Kingdom, which sold 2.74 million tickets and grossed €12.2 million ($13.3 million).

Two other animated feature films made the top 10 French export list: David Alaux, Eric Tosti, and Jean-François Tosti's "Epic Tales" was third with 1.76 million viewers and €10.4 million ($11.3 million), Laurent Bru, Yannick Moulin, and Benoît Somville's The Jungle Bunch 2: World Tour sold 460,000 tickets and placed 10th with €2.33 million ($2.5 million) at the international box office.

One of the factors that contributed greatly to the success of French films' exports abroad was the lack of U.S. competition in Russia, which was the main international market for French films in 2023. French films sold more than 7 million audiences in Russia and grossed more than 21.7 million euros ($22.6 million) at the box office.

The top five regions for French film exports were:

It was also a good year for French film titles on SVOD platforms. According to Ampere Analysis, in July 2023, 4.6% of films and standalone titles released on global SVOD platforms last July were predominantly French-funded; more than 5,000 French titles appeared on international streaming platforms; more than $22.6 million of French films were released on SVOD platforms last July; and more than $3.5 million of French films were released on international streaming platforms in July 2023, according to Ampere Analysis.