The vitality of French film production is confirmed, with 309 feature films certified in 2024 (11 more than the previous year and the second highest total of all time) for €1.44 million invested (€1.17 million of which from France and €275 million foreign) up by 7.5%, according to the annual report unveiled by the CNC.

This x-ray of production in 2024 is marked by a globally stable number of 100% French films (179) and by an upswing of international co-productions with 130 features (ten more than last year), 52 of which are French majority productions (in sharp decline) and 78 minority (a strong incline) with 39 countries. Investments into these international co-productions reached €455.55 million (the addition of €200.54 million French money - an 18.7% decline - and of €275.01 million foreign - up by 15.9%). Last year, the main international partners of French cinema were Belgium (30 FIFs - Films d’Initiative Française - and 17 minority co-productions), Germany (8 and 14), Italy (5 and 12), Spain (1 and 12), Switzerland (3 and 9), Luxembourg (2 and 4), the Netherlands (3 and 3), Greece (0 and 6), Canada (3 and 2), Tunisia (1 and 4) and Portugal (1 and 2).

On the funding side, €1.17 million were invested into the 231 FIFs with a medium quote rising for the fourth consecutive year to €5.09 million. Two FIFs benefitted from a budget above €40 million (Projet D - Love Story by Luc Besson with €45.2 million, and Chien 51 by Cédric Jimenez with €42 million), eight obtained more than €20 million and 27 more than €10 million (compared to 21 last year). The share of quotes between €7 million and €10 million is also on the rise (23 FIFs compared to 16 in 2024) as is, on the other end of the spectrum, that of small budgets (56 films at less than €1 million and 30 between €1 million and €2 million, compared to 44 and 23, respectively, the previous year). On the other hand, the number of features with a budget between €4 million and €7 million, in other words the “cinema of the middle” which encapsulates in general a great majority of the best French auteur films, is in sharp decline (39 FIFs in 2024 compared to 56 in 2023).

The details of the sources of funding for FIFs in 2024 reveal a new record for investment by broadcasters (€411.58 million, up 7.2% on 2023) which cover 35% of budgets. The share of mandates (distribution in theatres, video editions, international sales) has seen an upturn with €121.92 million (+12.6%) and represents 10.4% of quotes. The remaining of the financing of FIFs comes from producers themselves, who cover 39.9% of budgets (a share that then diminishes after recouping tax credits), public funds (7.6% via automatic and selective support from the CNC, and regional funds), foreign contributions (4.8%) and the Soficas (2.4%). In the broadcasters ranking, the Canal+ group remained the pillar of French cinema funding in 2024, with €185.39 million of pre-sale investment (€147.1 million for the Canal+ channel, €21.85 million for Ciné+, €15.39 million for OCS and €1.05 million for C8 which permanently stopped broadcasting last month) into 153 films (including 138 FIFs). But its financial engagement declined by 5.3% compared to the previous year and was related to 26 fewer films than in 2023, a tendency for contradiction that is expected to grow (read the article).

As for free channels, the public group France Télévisions invested €61.61 million (an 18.9% decline) into 65 films (including 62 FIFs), the TF1 group reached €54.60 million of investment into 22 films (all of them FIFs), the M6 group beat its own record with €36.7 million into 17 FIFs, and Arte France registered its lowest level of investment since 2008 with €5.49 million (a 40.2% decline compared to 2023) for 17 films (including eight FIFs).

The major change in the landscape of French production financing is the rise of platforms (services of video on demand through subscription), whose investments rose by 58.4% in 2024 at €76.4 million. The number of films they get involved with has, however, risen only moderately, going from 40 in 2023 to 45 (only FIFs) in 2024. Amongst them, Netflix dominates with €61.5 million for 27 films (14 of which have quotes superior to €7 million), overtaking Disney+ (€7.1 million for ten films) which will soon ramp things up (news) and Prime Video (whose investments have declined by 34.7% last year at €6.44 million for six films, compared to 12 in 2023). Finally, Max (available in France since June 2024) invested last year into two FIFs for a total sum of €1.2 million.

Worth noting finally that the first (70 FIFs) and second features (48 FIFs) represent 51.1% of production of FIFs in 2024 and the share of women having directed or co-directed a feature last year is stable at 26.1% of FIFs (but in decline compared to the 2022 record of 30.8%).