Barbie, Mario and 181 million admissions: the 2023 results of the French box office

Returning to levels close to pre-health crisis, cinemas were in full swing this year in France. So which films recorded the most admissions?

THE French box office, like everywhere else on the planet, is slowly but surely recovering from the COVID crisis. The year 2023 was the first since the pandemic without any health restrictions for dark rooms (wearing a mask was compulsory in theaters until February 28, 2022).

In this context of return to normal, France is doing a little better than the others and is showing results close to pre-crisis levels. In 2023, attendance reached 181 million entries, an increase of 18.9% compared to 2022, but above all a slight decrease compared to the 2017-2019 period. With attendance of -13.9% compared to the pre-Covid era, the French box office has regained color and appears as one of the territories where the recovery has been the most marked (-21% for the US box office compared to the 2017-2019 average, -14% in Germany, -22% in Italy or -47% in South Korea). Under closer inspection, we note that 40 films released in 2023 have crossed the million admissions mark in the French box office.

Encouraging figures but to be put into perspective, because they are largely supported by an exceptional summer, boosted by a host of blockbusters and by the effect Barbenheimer, leading to incredible attendance in July: + 35% compared to 2022 and even 10% higher than in the pre-Covid period! However, if we look in detail, the last months of 2023 were significantly less efficient, with attendance down 20% (!) compared to this pre-health crisis period.

The 2024 scores will therefore be carefully scrutinized to see if the hoped-for recovery is confirmed. In the meantime, there is reason to rejoice for French cinema, which had a good year: 72 million admissions were made by French films last year, or 40% market share, thanks in particular to Asterix and Obelix: the Middle Kingdom, Alibi.com 2 and the two parts of Three musketeersbut also to the successes of Miraculous – the movie (1.6 million), Anatomy of a fall (1.2 million), Skirmishers (1.1 million), I will always see your faces (1.1 million), My crime (1.1 million), The animal kingdom (1.0 million) or Small victories (nearly 900,000 entries).

Thus, hexagonal works find a place of choice in the top 10 French box office 2023dominated by a cartoon: Super Mario crushed the competition. Even barbie And Oppenheimer did not make the weight:

10. Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1 – 2,617,032 entries
9. Indiana Jones and the Clock of Destiny – 3,049,043 entries
8. Elementary – 3,310,378 entries
7. The Three Musketeers – D’Artagnan – 3,432,815 entries
6. Guardians of the Galaxy – Volume 3 – 3,604,845 entries
5. Albi.com 2 – 4,277,071 entries
4. Oppenheimer – 4,446,269 entries
3. Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom – 4,622,711 entries
2. barbie – 5,864,809 entries
1. Super Mario Bros, the movie – 7,259,295 entries