French cinema records a good year 2025 abroad

Dracula, Flow … French films had a rather successful year 2025 abroad, attracting 42.5 million spectators according to Unifrance estimates published Monday, up 6% compared to 2024. Unifrance, responsible for promoting cinema and audiovisual internationally, considers that a production is French from the moment when even a minority part of the financing comes from France.

French cinema is returning to the level of attendance abroad that it had experienced in 2023, but which remains 26% lower than the average recorded over the years 2017-2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic. This represents a turnover of approximately 272 million euros for French cinema. On the other hand, productions in French only declined with 17.1 million admissions, compared to 25.8 million in 2024.

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“We haven’t had French films like A little something extra or Le Comte de Monte Cristo but also Anatomy of a fallwhich worked well »explained to AFP the general director of Unifrance, Daniela Elstner. On the other hand, she underlined the capacity of French cinema to attract foreign authors such as the Iranian Jafar Panahi, whose film A simple accidentPalme d’Or at Cannes, is a predominantly French production.

Flowbest export of the year

The biggest success of the year abroad, according to Unifrance, goes to a minority production, the animated film Flowdirected by Latvian Gints Zilbalodis. Winner of the Oscar and the César for best animated film, this story of the adventures of a black cat in a flooded world attracted 7.8 million spectators outside France. “For us, it’s almost a French film” with 45% French financing, underlines Daniela Elstner. French animation has also recorded one of its best years abroad with 13 million cumulative admissions, just behind 2015 and 2017.

Trailer for Flow (2025)

On the second step of the podium, we find a mainly French production but shot in English: Draculaby Luc Besson, whose films often export well, was seen by 3.7 million spectators abroad. It even attracted more spectators in Italy (723,000) and Russia (1.76 million) than in France (651,000).

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French cinema has been particularly well exported to Latin America, with Mexico at the top of the ranking (4.2 million admissions), thanks in particular to the success of Flow. Latin America is a region “where we have fans focused on French independent cinema. There is a real “fanbase” that we have never neglected”insists Daniela Elstner. The podium of export territories is completed by Italy (4 million entries) and Germany (3.2 million), at the same level as Russia.