2025 Annual Report: French films in international cinemas and festivals

05 11月 2026

Unifrance releases its annual report, which details the final box office results for French films in foreign theaters, as well as the standing of French cinema at the 10 major international film festivals in 2025.

In 2025, the French film industry regained momentum internationally, with more than 45 million admissions and nearly 300 million euros in box office revenue—its best post-COVID-19 performance. At the same time, the number of French films released on the big screen abroad reached a record high of 1,461. The number of new releases remained higher than it was before the pandemic, with 260 titles in 2025—about 60 more than in 2019.

The most-watched French film in theaters internationally in 2025 was Flow. The minority-French film drew 8.64 million admissions (excluding France and Latvia) and became the third-biggest French hit of the decade abroad. Among majority-French productions Dracula: A Love Tale tood out with 3.95 million tickets sold. However, attendance was concentrated among a limited number of titles: the 10 most-watched films accounted for 54.5% of admissions. In 2025, there was also a surge in minority-French films, which drew over 20 million viewers, and in arthouse films, which attracted 28 million moviegoers—representing more than 60% of the annual total. Animation emerged as the leading genre, accounting for 32.2% of admissions, with more than 10 million tickets sold and notable successes in Latin America and Asia. Finally, despite a slight decline, films directed by women have continued to exert a growing influence in recent years, with their share of international admissions having nearly tripled compared to the 2010–2019 decade.

In 2025, French films in foreign markets experienced mixed trends depending on the region, with a sharp increase in admissions in Latin America (+84.3%), North America (+23.1%) and Western Europe (+15.9%), while Asia, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Near and Middle East all saw declines. Europe as a whole remained the primary market for French cinema, accounting for 61.5% of tickets sold at foreign box offices. That said, Latin America stood out by ranking second among geographic regions in terms of audience numbers for the first time. Mexico thus became the leading foreign market (4.31 million admissions), ahead of Italy and Germany. These results underscore both the importance of traditional European markets and the potential of geographically more distant regions, confirming the essential role of existing networks between French and foreign professionals in the international reach of French cinema.

In 2025, despite a decline in the number of French films programmed and their selections at the ten international festivals studied, France retained a major position on the global film scene, ranking second only to the United States. It still accounted for one in five films and one in four selections, and was also the most-awarded country, while remaining the leader over the past five years in terms of the cumulative number of films, selections, and awards. The presence of women in the director's chair is also on the rise, bucking the general trend. Finally, French films selected for these festivals confirmed their international potential: 13 of them have surpassed one million admissions abroad over the past five years, three of which were distributed in more than 70 markets: Anatomy of a Fall, Flow, and The Count of Monte Cristo.

MAJOR MARKET INDICATORS IN 2025

In international movie theaters

45.2 million admissions and 299.4 million euros in box office revenues.
1,461 French films exhibited, of which 260 new titles, and 3,120 releases.
2.4% was the share of French film admissions among foreign film admissions.¹
66.4% of admissions were for French-language films.
32,2 % of admissions were for animated films.
1“Foreign” films are films released in a territory other than their country of origin (for example: French films outside France, Chinese films outside China, U.S. films outside the United States, etc.)