2022 belongs to the big American productions. The French box office has been seduced by blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of the Water while France has shunned its own productions. For the very first time in 33 years, no French film has risen to the ranking of the ten most-viewed feature films in 2022 with us.
French cinema has seen better days. The pandemic is (more or less) behind us, the dark rooms have reopened, the spectators are (more or less) there… For certain films only. Unfortunately, the creme de la creme française no longer appeals as much as it used to.
French cinema disappointed
If big American productions have always been a big threat to French cinema, it managed to fight back with a few feature films that stood out. Last year, Kamelott: First Part or Les Tuches 4 had succeeded in bringing the spectators into the dark rooms.
But in 2022, it’s a different story. The top 10 most-watched movies in theaters are all-American. At the top, we find Top Gun: Maverickfollowed by Avatar 2: The Way of the Water and Minions: Once Upon a Time Gru. Superheroes won over fans with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, The Batman and Thor: Love and Thunder present in this ranking.
To find a French film at the top of the box office in France, you have to go directly to the eleventh position, where What have we all done to God?. A blow for French cinema, especially since it hadn’t happened since 1989. However, there were some relevant blue-white-red films. November moved into twelfth place while Simone, the trip of the century takes thirteenth place. As for The Night of 12the film was also able to seduce.
Cinemas make you dream less
This bad news is an opportunity to revive a troublesome subject: the French go less to dark rooms. The real price of a cinema ticket is around 12 euros. This could explain, among other things, the 34.7% drop in attendance last September compared to 2019 according to the CNC (Centre National du Cinéma). However, the last months of 2022 proved to be more fruitful.
The good news is that 2023 is shaping up to be an excellent year for moviegoers… Enough to bring viewers back to theaters? There is nothing more to hope for!
