All Of A Sudden

Source: Cannes Film Festival

‘All Of A Sudden’

France’s box office heated up alongside the temperatures in August, with admissions surging to a record 19.94 million, according to CNC figures — equivalent to an estimated €147.6m in box office revenue based on an average ticket price of €7.40.

The result capped a bumper summer for French cinemas, with July and August combining for 37.5 million admissions — matching 2011 for the best summer total on record and representing an estimated €277.5m in box office revenue. 

The record box office came amid an exceptionally hot summer that drove audiences into air-conditioned cinemas. Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Universal’s The Odyssey dominated the month, accounting for close to half of all August admissions between them.

After starting out with 1.5 million tickets during its first three days at the end of July, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day climbed by 6 million admissions in August for a current total of 7.8 million overall. The film is now the biggest Spider-Man title ever at the French box office, surpassing the 7.3 million admissions clocked by Spider-Man: No Way Home released at the end of 2021.

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey continues to sail on strongly in France with 3.9 million more admissions in August, bringing its total to 7.4 million. The Homer adaptation is the best performance for a Nolan film in France to date and the first to sell more than 5 million tickets in the country.

Paramount’s Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie was the biggest new release of the month, drawing some 1.6 million admissions since Aug. 5. Disney’s Moana, released on July 8, and Toy Story 5, released on June 17, were also among top US studio imports over the month.

The rest of the top 10 slots were filled by local tentpoles led by Mohamed Hamidi’s comedy God Bless This Mess, released by SND, which has already sold more than 1.5 million tickets since its August 12 release. Pathé’s two-part De Gaulle epic has now topped 5.4 million admissions, with Resistance, released June 3, and Liberté, released June 26, still drawing more than 100,000 weekly admissions in their 12th and ninth weeks respectively.

A further French comedy, Zinc’s De la Comédie-Française, released July 22, has crossed the 1m admissions mark.

Cannes titles

The first wave of Cannes titles released in French cinemas has also delivered several arthouse successes. Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s All Of A Sudden,  released by Diaphana on August 12, is now the Japanese filmmaker’s biggest French box-office hit, with some 240,500 admissions.

Palme d’Or winner Fjord has also had a strong start for Le Pacte with 309,000 admissions in its first two weeks in cinemas.

Incoming from Cannes will be Arthur Harari’s The Unknown, released by Pathe, that opened on August 26, then Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s A Woman’s Life,  via Pyramide, Léa Mysius’ The Birthday Party, from Le Pacte, Géraldine Nakache’s Think Good, to be released by Pan Distribution, and Jeanne Herry’s Garance, from Studiocanal. 

The summer momentum typically falters in September, but draws include Studiocanal’s World War 2 film Pressure, Olivia Wilde’s awards contender The Invite via Maverick Distribution, and Zach Cregger’s horror Resident Evil, from Metropolitan Filmexport.

The summer momentum has propelled 2026 to the strongest post-pandemic performance for the first eight months of the year, with 127.92 million admissions, ahead of 124.9 million over the same period in 2023 and 117.76 million in 2024. Rolling 12-month admissions reached 184.5 million, up from 163.4 million a year earlier.

 

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