According to UniFrance’s annual forecast figures, the number of admissions to French films in the international market in 2025 will increase by 6% from the previous year to 42.5 million. This corresponds to an estimated total value of approximately 272 million euros.
In comparison, the final tally for 2024 is 271.7 million euros and 40.1 million admissions. This figure is equivalent to 271.8 million euros and 42.8 million hospitalizations in 2023, but is still 26% lower than the pre-pandemic 2017-2019 average.
Latvian director Gints Gilvalodis wins Oscar flowwas a minority French production and was the top film of the year, selling 7.8 million tickets, or approximately 39.3 million euros, in 59 territories outside France in 2025, with cumulative admissions of 8.2 million people and box office revenue of 42.7 million euros. The film was co-produced by Paris-based Sacre Bleu Productions and sponsored by Arte France Cinema and Canal Plus. Charade was in charge of overseas sales.
flow is the fourth most successful French animation of all time in the international market.
Top 10 French movies outside of France in 2025
| Ranking | film | Admission | box office revenue | Kume’s admission | Kume box office revenue | region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | flow* | 7.8m | $39.3 million | 8.2m | $42.7 million | 59 |
| 2 | Dracula: A love story | 3.7m | $22.3 million | 3.7m | $22.3 million | 41 |
| 3 | I’m still here* | 2.3m | $18.9 million | 2.3m | $18.9 million | 36 |
| 4 | pets on the train | 2.3m | $11.6 million | 2.3m | $11.6 million | 43 |
| 5 | Zoo Calypse Night* | 1.7m | $8.7 million | 1.7m | $8.7 million | 40 |
| 6 | Emilia Perez | 1.6m | $9.9 million | 2.1m | $13.5 million | 50 |
| 7 | marching band | 1.2m | 10 million dollars | 1.4m | $11.9 million | 31 |
| 8 | sentimental value* | 0.8m | $7.4 million | 0.8m | $7.4 million | 14 |
| 9 | it was just an accident | 0.7m | $5.7 million | 0.7m | $5.7 million | 29 |
| 10 | moon the panda | 0.6m | $4.2 million | 0.6m | $4.2 million | 43 |
*Minority French funding
The world’s top 10 French films of 2025 included two more animated titles. pets on the train Attendance was 2.3 million (11.6 million euros), second only to the fourth highest-grossing film of the year. Zoo Calypse Night The number of visitors was 1.7 million (8.7 million euros), ranking fifth.
Last year, animated films attracted more than 13 million admissions, accounting for about 34.4% of overseas ticket sales. This is a notable increase from 17.7% in 2024, the third-best cumulative total in the genre (21.7 million in 2015 and 15.2 million in 2017), and the highest market share ever for the genre.
Live-action fiction films remain the most watched genre in French cinema internationally, accounting for 64% of total admissions. Documentary films accounted for just 1.7% of admissions.
Within the fiction category, dramas accounted for 23.6% of all fiction films with 9.1 million admissions, followed by comedies with 7.8 million (20.3%). Fantasy and horror were also popular genres, with 4 million attendees and 10.3% of total fiction ticket sales.
Luc Besson’s dracula It was the second-best performer outside France. More tickets were sold in Italy (723,000) and Russia (1.8 million) than in France (651,000).
This year’s top 10 French films on the international market also included a Portuguese version by Brazilian director Walter Salles i’m still here Third slot with 2.3 million visitors (18.9 million euros). MACT Productions was the minority co-producer on the film, which also received support from Arte France Cinema, Canal Plus, and Cine+-OCS.
Jacques Audiard’s English and Spanish Emilia Perez The number of students enrolled in 2025 is 1.6 million (€9.9 million), ranking sixth, and the total number of students enrolled to date is 2.1 million (€13.5 million).
Other French minority co-productions that have fared well internationally include: Festival and award favorite Joachim Trier’s Norwegian sentimental value Iranian drama by Jafar Panahi It was just an accident.
Director Emmanuel Courcol’s local French box office hit marching band, Gilles de Maistre’s animal adventures moon the panda It was also among other top performers.
Seven French films exceeded 1 million international admissions, accounting for 53.6% of total admissions. Dracula, Emilia Perez, Pets on a Train, Marching Band, Flow, I’m Still Here and Night at the Zoo Calypse.
Gilles Renouard, UniFrance’s head of film, suggested that such blockbusters are “a positive sign and necessary for the French film market in the international market. Tentpole films are needed to increase attendance and support smaller films.”
top market
The biggest market for French films in 2025 was Mexico with 4.2 million admissions, followed by Italy with 4 million, Germany and Russia with 3.2 million each, U.S. equivalent Spain and English-speaking Canada with 2.2 million, followed by Belgium and Luxembourg with 1.7 million.
French film attendance by region in 2025
| Ranking | region | Admission | % of total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico | 4.2m | 11% |
| 2 | Italy | 4.0m | 10.5% |
| 3 | Germany | 3.2m | 8.3% |
| 4 | Russia | 3.2m | 8.3% |
| 5 | Spain | 3.2m | 5.7% |
| 6 | USA and Canada | 2.2m | 5.6% |
| 7 | Belgium and Luxembourg | 1.7m | 4.5% |
| 8 | united kingdom and ireland | 1.4m | 3.6% |
| 9 | Brazil | 1.3m | 3.3% |
| 10 | Poland | 1.1m | 2.8% |
Great Britain and Ireland was the eighth best market for French films, with 1.4 million admissions. Rounding out the top 10 regions were Brazil with 1.3 million enrollments and Poland with 1.1 million enrollments.
Latin America is the second largest region for French cinema in terms of attendance, after Western Europe and ahead of Central and Eastern Europe. UniFrance tallied 8.8 million enrollments from Latin America, accounting for 23.1% of the international market in 2025, a record for the region.
Festival: quality over quantity
Starting in 2021, French films will not dominate the top film festivals for four consecutive years. American titles dominated in 2025, accounting for 23.1% of films at the top 10 film festivals surveyed by UniFrance, while France was a close second with 20%. Films from Germany (11.1%) and Spain (8.9%) followed, with Britain and Italy tied for fifth place at 8.4%.
In 2025, France noted a 7.9% decrease in the number of films shown at film festivals (233) compared to 2024.
According to UniFrance, there are two reasons for the slump: first, a strong comeback in American films after a multi-year hiatus following Hollywood strikes and the pandemic; and second, the French presence in Berlin has halved from a year ago.
“France was at the forefront of film festivals during the coronavirus pandemic because the French system made it possible to make films when other countries, especially the United States, could not,” Renouard said. “Now France is back to where it was before the pandemic.”
Despite showing fewer films, France won the most awards (52) in all categories at the festival, including the Palme d’Or for director Jafar Panahi at Cannes. It was just an accident, Winner of the Berlin Silver Bear Award for outstanding artistic contribution to the works of Lucil Hadjihalilovic ice tower Venice Best Screenplay Award for Valerie Donzelli at work.
Cannes is the most popular festival for French titles, with 60.7% of the 2025 selections coming from France, followed by Locarno (34.1%), San Sebastian (28.7%), Busan (27.6%), Venice (25.2%), and Berlin falling into the ninth slot with 13.3%.
Finally, despite the decline in the number of French films screened, the market share of French female directors at festivals rose to 38.6% (36.0% in 2024), but fell to 33.4% compared to 35% in 2024 for films of all nationalities combined.
qualification
Unifrance identifies French films as titles that have received investment or production approval from CNC or are considered French by Unifrance. It does not include the box office receipts of French films by ethnic minorities in the home countries of the majority of co-producers.
All figures are made by UniFrance.
