Back سينما فرنسا Arabic Fransa kinematoqrafiyası Azerbaijani ফ্রান্সের চলচ্চিত্র শিল্প Bengali/Bangla Cinema de França Catalan سینەمای فەڕەنسا CKB Frankrigs filmhistorie Danish Französischer Film German Γαλλικός κινηματογράφος Greek Cine de Francia Spanish Frantziako zinema Basque
| Cinema of France | |
|---|---|
 | |
| No. of screens | 5,653 (2014)[1] |
| Main distributors | 20th Century Studios (The Walt Disney Company) (14.6%) Warner Bros. (9.8%) UGC (6.9%)[1] |
| Produced feature films (2018[2]) | |
| Total | 258 |
| Animated | 36 (5.3%) |
| Documentary | 127 (18.6%) |
| Number of admissions (2018[2]) | |
| Total | 197.1 million |
| National films | 77.8 million (39.47%) |
| Gross box office (2018[2]) | |
| Total | €1.31 billion |
| National films | €493.10 million (43.1%) |
The cinema of France comprises the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the nation of France or by French film production companies abroad. It is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe, with primary influence also on the creation of national cinemas in Asia.
The Lumière brothers launched cinematography in 1895 with their L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat. By the early 1900s, French cinema led globally, with pioneers like Méliès creating cinematic techniques and the first sci-fi film, A Trip to the Moon (1902). Studios like Pathé and Gaumont dominated, with Alice Guy-Blaché directing hundreds of films. Post-WWI, French cinema declined as U.S. films flooded Europe, leading to import quotas. Between the wars, directors like Jean Renoir, Jean Vigo and Marcel Carné shaped French Poetic Realism. Renoir’s La Règle du Jeu (1939) and Carné’s Les Enfants du Paradis (1945) remain iconic, showcasing innovation despite war challenges.
From the 1940s to the 1970s, French cinema flourished with the advent of the New Wave, led by critics-turned-directors like Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut, producing groundbreaking films such as Breathless (1960) and The 400 Blows (1959). The movement, which inspired global filmmakers, faded by the late 1960s. Meanwhile, commercial French cinema gained popularity with comedies like La Grande Vadrouille (1966). Stars like Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon and Catherine Deneuve rose to international fame. Directors like Bertrand Tavernier explored political and artistic themes. By the late 1970s, films like La Cage aux Folles (1978) achieved significant global success.
France was able to produce several major box office successes into the 1990s such as Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), while certain film like La Femme Nikita (1990) and The Fifth Element (1997) reached an international audience.
In 2013, France was the second largest exporter of films in the world after the United States, and a 2014 study showed that French cinema was the most appreciated by global audiences after that of the US.[3] According to industry tracker The Numbers, the fortunes of French film exports have since declined: in 2019, France had fallen to the position of 7th largest exporter by total box office revenue with a 2% share of the global market, and in 2023, 15th by the same metric with a 0.44% share.[4][5] Overall, France sits fourth on the tracker's all-time box office chart behind the US, UK, and China.[6]
- ^ a b "Les chiffres clés du cinéma français en 2014 dévoilés avant Cannes". CNC. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015.
- ^ a b c "Bilan 2018". cnc.fr (in French). 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ^ "Enquête sur l'image du cinéma français dans le monde – uniFrance Films". Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ^ "Country Breakdown for 2019".
- ^ "Country Breakdown for 2023".
- ^ "Movie Production Countries".