Saint-Tropez, a yacht, striking colors, a hoax and rich pseudo-precious. As rich From Amin Harfouch, with Brahim Bouhlel, Fehdi Bendjima and Armindo Alves and, in the guest stars, Philippe Lacheau, Philippe Katerine and Frédérique Bel, arrives at theaters on July 23. But this comedy could be one of the last French films accompanied by the Universal Giant.
This is in any case what is said at the end of June, Xavier Albert, the general director of the French subsidiary, Total Screen, Professional Media specialized in cinema and television: “For consistent reasons, we officially stop the French films. In question, their results are considered” too random “:” When a job [tricolore] Find your audience, it works excessively well, but when it fails, there is no limit. “
Conclusion of the study: “We suspend all our investments in these films because we do not have the necessary weapons to fight in terms of attention and talent with only two or three feature films per year. We have two French feature films to leave [Comme des riches donc et L’Homme qui rétrécit de Jan Kounen, avec Jean Dujardin, en salles le 29 octobre prochain]Then we will stop there. “And to specify, in this same interview:” systematically rejected all projects of this type that send me. “
After these very clear comments, Universal Pictures International France, which has supported local production since 2008, has finally retracted. A source close to the study told Variety at the end of June that “in fact, it would continue to be released in French language films, but that it would be more prudent and selective in the future.” Contacted, the company did not respond to our requests.
Results in Mastile Medium
In recent years, the fourth distributor in France in 2024, behind Disney, Warner Bros. and Pathé Films, mainly light tricolor comedies produced and distributed, capable of touching the most public. For more than mixed results: since 2022, their hexagonal films have limited a maximum of 175,000 admissions, according to CBO figures.
For example, comedy Angels and Cie By Vladimir Rodionov it totaled just over 110,000 admissions in May 2025, the race film Fast De Morgan S. Dalibert collected 172,000 in April. A little earlier, the first feature film of Kateb, In a threadI had only attracted 72,000 spectators last fall when The most beautiful to go dance from Victoria Bedos and My heroine From Noémie Lefort he had registered about 110,000 admissions in 2023 and 2022.
Shilate, who decides with his quite success Made in France a few years ago, like Speed shrimp By Cédric Le Gallo and Maxime Govare (580,000 admissions in 2019), Babysitter AND Child 2 by Philippe Lacheau and Nicolas Benamou (respectively 2.4 million in 2014 and 3.2 million admissions in 2015) or The arnacœur From Pascal Chaumeil (3.8 million in 2010).
Far from the scores of the Hollywood box office successes of the study, which often trust the first places at the box office, but whose budgets are a few hundred million euros, when their local productions are much more confidential, generally between 4 and 6 million euros in recent months, with the exception of Fastwith 14.45 million euros, according to Scriptoclap.
Therefore, the last two universal blockbusters, Jurassic World: Renaissance by Gareth Edwards and Dragons Dean Deblois and Chris Sanders, around 1.5 million admissions in two weeks during the first and 2.1 million in five weeks for the second.
Of course, there are disappointments for this type of film, but they seem less systematic and less colossal, such as Wicked (850,000 tickets) or The Autumn Boy (660,000 tickets) Recently, both expected a higher level.
Training effect?
Could the other French subsidiaries of US studies follow the movement? Paramount, which is only illustrated in the distribution of tricolor films or promptly tied some associations with French companies, such as TF1 Studio, stopped accompanying this type of works in 2019, after Cold blood legacy: blood memory By Frédéric petitjean.
But another announcement has yet been made in this regard and the recent orientations of several Hollywood companies barely indicate a reduction in the candle. In fact, Disney will be forced to invest more in local production after its new position in the chronology of the media (second, nine months, behind Canal+), while Sony launched in 2021 the label “Productions Parasomnia” to promote French gender films with a “limited budget”.
Major Warner Bros. has benefited from a better average than the universal team in his 2024 hexagonal films, with 325,000 admissions for Your children after them Boukherma Brothers or 435,000 tickets for Happy winners By Maxime Govare and Romain Chay.
And to see the Tricolor Works market share in France in 2024, exceptionally high, with 44.8 % according to the CNC, against 36.3 % for US films, their lowest level since 1988, hopes remain allowed.
Source: BFM TV
