France’s theatrical exhibition industry is experiencing a major recovery in the pandemic’s latter days, Comscore reports, noting that admissions over the weekend of June 18-20 were above the attendance for the equivalent weekends in 2019 and 2018.
The company’s exclusive data shows that France enjoyed 8.5 million admissions in the month following the reopening of the country’s movie theaters on May 19. With 500,000 admissions on Monday, May 24 – the holiday known as White Monday – alone, the country boasted 2.36 million admissions in the first week post-reopening (May 19-25).
Notably, there was a 35% capacity restriction and a 9 p.m. curfew in place for French cinemas in the first three weeks of reopening. On June 9, the capacity restriction was lifted to 65% and the curfew was pushed to 11 p.m. In the wake of that, Comscore reports that daily admissions rose immediately, and rose even higher the week beginning June 16. On Sunday, June 20, French exhibitors saw over 420,000 total admissions.
The growth in attendance was attributed to such popular local and foreign films as Adieu les Cons, The Conjuring:The Devil Made Me Do It, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, Tom & Jerry, The Father and Envole-moi.
“The expansive growth of moviegoing in France can serve as a North Star for other international territories” said Eric Marti, General Manager for France, Comscore. “The passion for and love of cinema has always been a source of pride for the French people and as more cinema locations have opened and great films are appearing on-screen, we have seen an astonishing rise in the level of moviegoing by patrons excited to once again enjoy the big screen experience.”
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