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While we wait for better days to return, starting with the reopening of theatres, Médiamétrie is offering, like every year, an inside look at the 2019 Cinema Year, which shows more than ever the attachment of the French population to their cinemas, the friendliness of this outing and the emotions conveyed by the films on offer.

« Despite 2019 being disrupted by social movements and heat waves, French people made 213.3 million cinema admissions, almost 13 million more than in 2018*. The other performance comes from the number of spectators: a record of 42.2 million in 2019, which means 600,000 more spectators than in 2018 discovered cinemas for the first time or went back to cinémas », says Marine Boulanger, Director of Cinema & Entertainment at Médiamétrie.

Occasionnals cinema-goers and young people were still on the agenda in 2019

Thanks to a rich offer of blockbusters and animated films, occasional cinema goers** particularly stood out: they were 30 million in 2019, which is a new absolute record. They made a total of 72.1 million visits, thus marking the biggest change (+ 6.7 million).

Whether with family, friends or as a couple, a cinema outing remains an experience to be shared: 74% of spectators go to the cinema with someone else.

Overall, in 2019, cinema viewers saw an average of 5 films in a cinema.

Although people aged 50 years and older still account for one in three visits (36%), the 15-24 age group came more in 2019: 6.7 million of them, or 300,000 more than in 2018, thus contributing to the rejuvenation of the media. With an average age of 39.2 years, cinema spectators are the youngest, all media combined. It is even “more than 4 years” below the average age of French people, which is 43.6 years.

This enthusiasm among young people is proof that cinema is a hobby that still appeals to French people.

* Source CNC

** Occasional cinema-goers say that they go to the cinema at least once a year

Dramas and animated films have brought together a wide audience

Several films boosted cinema admissions in 2019, particularly certain film genres. American films dominate the rankings. One of these, the live action version of the Lion King, achieved 10.2 million admissions. Qu’est-ce qu’on a encore fait au Bon Dieu was the biggest French success, with 6.7 million admissions.

Two genres outperformed in 2019 (compared to 2018): dramas, with successes like, Les Misérables, Au nom de la Terre or even Green Book and Parasite, and animated films, with major franchises such as Frozen 2, Toy Story 4 or Dragons 3.

Much of this success is also reflected in the most popular films among spectators in 2019:

The French are still as attached as ever to their cinemas

Despite their growing interest in SVoD - of the 42.2 million viewers in 2019, 15.9 million also watch programmes on SVoD platforms: cinema spectators remain very attached to the 7th art and their theatres. They give them a score of 7.9/10, the highest score ever achieved.

Many cinemas throughout France receive excellent scores thanks to their initiatives in terms of welcome and proximity, comfort and modernity or even scheduling.

Drawn by increasingly innovative theatres that offer more and more services (lounges, snacks, etc.), cinema-goers look forward to and prepare for their outing: on-line ticket sales thus represent 28% of ticket sales for a large showing.

Once at their destination, more than one out of two viewers (54%) usually buy themselves a snack to enjoy before or during the show.

Finally, 2019 reaffirmed the strong values of cinema: 76% of viewers say that they go to watch a film in the cinema “for the emotions it arouses”, 66% “for the pleasure of talking about it after watching it” and 64% “for the good story it offers”.