French Indie Cinema Sector Calls For Revolution As Arthouse Box Office Slump Deepens
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Loading... - Martisse Bertin
- 03 Nov 2022
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French cinema professionals from across the country’s independent production, distribution and exhibition chain flocked to an emergency general convention in Paris this week to raise the alarm over the future of their industry.
France has long prided itself on being the most cinephile country on the planet, but there is a growing sense among its indie cinema sector that the population has fallen out of love with the seventh art in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Figures released by the National Cinema Centre (CNC) last week revealed the worst September box office for the country in 42 years, with 7.38 million entries, for a rough box office of $47m, representing a 20.7% drop on September 2021, and a 34.3% fall on the same month in 2019.
Admissions for the first nine months of 2022 are currently trailing 30% below the average for the same period from 2017-2019. September’s drop was due in part to a lack of big U.S. titles on release but beyond that, the arthouse sector of the market has been ailing for months in the wake of the pandemic.
Other indie concerns include the relentless rise of streaming platforms; how high-end drama is encroaching on its audience; negotiations over France’s strict chronology laws that protect the theatrical window; the recent abolition of the TV license and what that means for film finance, as well as the perception that cinema-going is costly amid the cost-of-living-crisis. Read More...
