A record 26 French titles were released on French screens during this summer's holiday season (July-August).

However, and despite the fact that overall attendance has been on a par with last year's healthy figures, French domestic cinema, which was on a roll last year, has seen its performance slump by 6.4 million admissions in 2002 during this period.

Once considered a 'graveyard' season, the summer months have seen attendance in French cinemas steadily creeping up over the past decade (a 20% jump in the past four years). Admissions reached a record 25.4 million tickets last year according to the latest report by French film industry support body CNC.

In 2002, although there have been a smaller number of first-run US titles available on French screens compared to an increase in the number of French titles, US films fared much better than local films, selling 19.5 million tickets, compared to 4.4 million.