The China Mail - France's cinemas show the way in post-Covid recovery

The French industry recorded a million more cinema-goers in 2024 compared to the year before and is back to the same level of revenues as the pre-Covid era, setting it apart from its peers, industry figures show.

"In 2024, all large European countries but also the United States are down compared to entries in 2023," the head of France's National Cinema Centre (CNC), Olivier Henrard, commented on attendance figures revealed at the end of the year.

The only other bright spots internationally were Brazil and Bolivia, where the number of cinema entries also increased.

Covid shuttered theatres across the globe in 2020-2021 and brought movie production to a standstill, while lockdowns saw many consumers invest in online streaming services like Netflix and new high-end TVs.

When screens reopened permanently at the end of the health emergency, some commentators questioned if the cinema industry would ever recover.

"People said it was dead," Eric Marti, an analyst at media measurement agency Comscore told AFP.

A shortage of post-Covid releases followed by a major 2023 strike by Hollywood screenwriters compounded the problems, severely reducing the pipeline of new flicks needed to entice fans back to multiplexes or independent theatres.

France has rebounded stronger than most, but is still not back to pre-Covid levels in terms of ticket sales, with the number of entries last year still down by around 13 percent compared with the 2017-2019 period.

- 'Make people get out' -

The relative resilience of the French market bears witness to the enduring love affair with the silver screen in the land of the Cannes Film Festival, as well as long-standing state support for French-language productions and cinema operators.

Ludovic Graillat runs a new seven-screen facility in the southwestern town of Cahors which opened shortly before the pandemic, thanks in part to subsidies from the town and regional governments.

"It was pretty difficult because we'd made a lot of investments, but we survived," he told AFP of the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.

Last year, ticket sales at his "Grand Palais" theatre increased by around six percent year-on-year to 193,000, leaving him pleasantly surprised and increasing confident about the future.

"I'm profitable. We've grown every year since the reopening. That will allow me to save to be able to renovate further," he explained.

He has also made adjustments to encourage people to get off their couches.

There is a catering service for patrons who can mingle before and after screenings. He holds events such as talks, food and wine tastings, concerts or workshops for local school children during the holidays.

"We need to change to make people want to get out. The draw of the film is not enough on its own," he said. "The cinema has become more of a social space."

Like other operators, he has also invested in large, comfortable chairs, cutting-edge laser projection technology and thumping surround-sound Dolby Atmos systems.

"When people come here they have to feel like they can't get a better in terms of comfort, sound and image," Graillat explained.

- 'The secret' -

The French exception in 2024 was also the result of popular local releases, including the top-selling "Un p'tit truc en plus" ("A Little Something Extra"), a comedy about a father and son who go to work in a holiday camp for people with disabilities.

The second-biggest box office hit was a high-budget French adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' epic novel "The Count of Monte Cristo" starring actor Pierre Niney, which was also the country's biggest foreign export.

"The secret is the same everywhere: cinema-goers like to watch local productions," Marti explained. "It's absolutely essential. And France has a strong national industry, with its ecosystem, that produces every year."

Overall, French films accounted for 44 percent of cinema entries last year, the highest proportion since 2008, according to CNC figures.

"Outside of the United States, no other country gets close to this figure," CNC chairman Henrard told the France Inter radio station. "In our large European neighbours, it's around 15-25 percent."

In total, French cinemas recorded 181 million entries in 2024, a rise of 0.5 percent from 2023.

R.Yeung--ThChM