French cinema remains a global force – despite growing challenges

From the pioneering Lumière brothers to the New Wave, cinema has long held a special place in French culture.

But the country’s so-called septième art also has a huge cachet abroad. 

Admissions to French films in international markets in 2025 increased 6% year-on-year to 42.5 million, according to projected annual figures from Unifrance, and its film festival in Cannes is among the ‘Big Five’ internationally, alongside Venice, Berlin, Toronto and Sundance.

“Numerically, France is the most dominant non-anglophone industry (in Europe),” said Mary Harrod, professor of French and screen studies at the University of Warwick, England.

Part of its success lies in cinema’s perception as a serious art form and not merely ‘entertainment’, an idea that went global during the New Wave.

“In the 1950s, this group of directors sought to legitimise cinema as an art on par with literature and wrote articles about it. This was exported to the US and was very influential in film studies and film culture more generally,” said Professor Harrod.

At the same time, actors such as Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg helped create a sexiness and mystique that extended beyond the screen into clothing and popular culture more generally.

“The glamour, it’s all part of it. The French fashion industry, for example, is also on display at Cannes.”

Varied output

This love affair with French cinema has endured. In 2023, Anatomy of a Fall, which won the Palme d’or at Cannes, was nominated for five Oscars including Best Picture, Director and Actress, while in 2011 The Artist became the first non-American or British film to win Best Picture.

Their success is partly the result of a “clever dual-pronged approach” that the French industry has taken, said Professor Harrod.

“It’s not only a beacon of arts cinema, but also a very vigorous commercial player.”

From the “realist, intimate dramas” that have a “big place” in French cinema – partly, she says, because the cinema-going audience is much older in France – to blockbusters and animation, which are easy to export and dub. 

Fewer mega-budget films also play a role: “Budgets are lower in France, there is less spectacular filmmaking, which promotes different people getting into film.”

Support 

Another factor that promotes a strong film industry is the support that filmmakers receive. 

Funding is based on the system of avance sur recettes, in which the state-funded Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC) provides funding for films that is only returned once they make money. 

“This allows a great deal of freedom and lets people be more experimental. It’s often given to first feature film directors in particular, which obviously hugely promotes innovation. In the UK we don’t have anything quite like that.” 

French cinema has also enjoyed strong support from television, notably Canal+, which has long invested in the industry in exchange for rights to show films on its channel. 

Training is excellent too, with national film school La Fémis counting alumni including directors Céline Sciamma and François Ozon. 

And there are also regular initiatives to support filmmakers. 

“I remember they once wanted to support horror and fantasy production and launched a special fund for that. There’s this sense of cinema being really important and something worth protecting,” said Professor Harrod.

Challenges

But the country that has long bucked a Europe-wide trend of dwindling audiences has shown recent signs of struggle itself.

In 2025, there were 156.79 million cinema admissions in France, 13.4% down on 2024, according to the CNC.

Like everywhere, streaming platforms are shaking up the industry. 

A rule stipulating a 36-month window before a cinematic release can be shown on television – known as the chronologie des médias and designed to protect cinema-going audiences – has recently changed. 

Since 2025, a deal protects cinematic releases for at least four months, allowing broadcast on TV or streaming platforms between six and 36 months later, depending on the support broadcasters promise to French productions. 

But even when streamers finance local productions, such as Netflix’s Lupin, France sees less financial gain. 

“A lot more of the profits are going to the US even when it’s a French Netflix original,” said Professor Harrod.

Nevertheless, she believes there are still a lot of lessons that other nations can learn from France.

“We need to keep investing in the arts, not just by funding films directly but also by training.

“Both France and the UK have great writing, but it’s got to be maintained and that’s about education – keeping the arts and the humanities funded and supported and promoted and seen as important in school, then into university.”

But it is not just about money – building an identity is equally important.

“Cultural prestige is something that is hard won over many years. It’s hard to emulate and there are real reasons for it but it’s also a question of branding. 

"They [French cinema industry leaders] are good at continuing to promote that brand,” said Professor Harrod.