Merzak Allouache's comedy Chouchou was the most profitable locally produced film of 2003. With a budget of Euros 7.6m, the film earned Euros 17.6m during its theatrical release - a 230% return on investment.

According to a study by French daily Le Figaro, the second most profitable film was the Luc Besson produced Taxi 3 which had a budget of Euros 14.5m and a take of Euros 29.6 million.

Despite Taxi 3's success and that of the Jose Garcia starring Rire Et Chatiments (budget: Euros 5.3m, earnings: Euros 5.2m), there is bad news for Besson's EuropaCorp elsewhere in the list.

Europa counts three films on the flops list : Bertrand Blier's controversial Cannes competitor Les Cotelettes came in at number six, Jean-Paul Rappenau's Oscar contender Bon Voyage - although Europa only handled international sales for the film - at number 8 and comic book adaptation Michel Vaillant in 9th position.

Still, the biggest flop of the year came from venerable studio Gaumont. The Stephane Clavier directed Lovely Rita cost Euros 13.32 million to make but only brought in Euros 470,000. Among the other unspectacular results is the Antoine de Caunes directed Monsieur N which sold only Euros 900,000 worth of tickets on a budget of Euros 15.93 million.

Other films in the winners circle include La Beuze, Le Coeur Des Hommes, Pere et Fils and Jeux d'Enfants.