After two years marked by the pandemic, cinema admissions recorded a +59.2% recovery in 2022 compared to 2021. However, they remain below their pre-Covid levels.
Ray of hope for French cinemas: cinemas have regained three-quarters of their pre-Covid attendances, with 152 million admissions in 2022, according to figures from the National Center for Cinema and Moving Image (CNC) released this Monday morning. A recovery of +59.2% compared to 2021 with 95.5 million visitors. But in 2022 everything stays the same “minus -26.9% compared to the pre-Covid period and the historically high average of the financial years 2017 to 2019” (207.9 million visitors).
An important factor to take into account when reading these figures: the year just passed was the first without cinema closures for health reasons, unlike 2020 and 2021. But, as the CNC specifies, 2022 remains “A year of transition still marked by the pandemic”who reminded that health restrictions such as the vaccination certificate and the ban on the sale of confectionery were only lifted in mid-March.
“One of the best covers in the world”
The CNC also pointed out that the range of lively films in 2022 will not yet match those of the pre-Covid years. “This is a very encouraging result in a still atypical context. France is posting one of the best recoveries in the world, with a more limited decline compared to, for example, the United States, South Korea, Germany, Spain or Italy. said in a press release Dominique Boutonnat, president of the CNC, who said he was confident for 2023.
Avatar: The Way of Water by James Cameron was the biggest hit of the year in France with 7.6 million views since its release on December 14th. In 2022, the top 5 films remain the prerogative of American blockbusters, as do the new works of Top Gun: Maverick And minions.
However, the market share of French films “maintained at the high level achieved since 2020”, especially due to the pandemic and the “relative scarcity of supply of American films”, notes the CNC. This share was 40.9% compared to an average of 37.2% in the years 2017 to 2019. The share of American films was 40.5%.
2022, “All audiences have returned to the cinemas, but by being more selective”, said Eric Marti, a specialist at Comscore, an audience analytics company. American films were a “Engine” if only the films on the French side “with a certain originality” have defended themselves, for example at the expense of great comedies.
