Cinema: How can we explain the fact that cinema attendance is at its lowest for 28 years?

Cinema is in decline. "Over the first six months of the year, 75.27 million admissions were recorded, a drop of 12.2% compared to the same period in 2024," according to figures from the CNC. This is the worst half-year recorded in 28 years. It is noted that "last year benefited from the great success of several films including Inside Out 2 , A Little Something Extra , and The Count of Monte Cristo ."

In June, French cinemas recorded nearly 11 million admissions, a 23% drop compared to the same period last year, according to figures from the National Cinema Centre (CNC) released Wednesday.

The top spot in the monthly film rankings is held by a British production: Lilo & Stitch (released on May 21). Two other British productions are also included: How to Train Your Dragon (2nd, released on June 11) and F1: The Movie (4th, released on June 25). Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (3rd, released on May 21) is the first American film.

The Fête du Cinéma, a promotional event with €5 tickets across France, attracted more than 3 million spectators this year, down from last year, the National Federation of French Cinemas announced Thursday.

"For its 40th edition from June 29 to July 2, 2025, more than 3 million spectators went to the cinema (...) This success equals the score of 2023, and exceeds those of the pre-COVID period 2017-2019," the Federation said in a press release.

Last year, the event set a historic record with 4.65 million spectators, well above its average. A success driven by Artus's comedy " Un p'tit truc en plus" , "The Count of Monte-Cristo" and "Inside Out 2" .

"Thanks to a wide and diverse selection of films, and in the context of scorching temperatures, the French have reaffirmed their pleasure in rediscovering their primary cultural pastime in the cool of dark rooms," said the organizers, who are delighted with the "very good results" of the 2025 edition.

Several major productions had timed their release dates to coincide with the event, when cinema attendances were breaking records: F1 with Brad Pitt as the returning driver, M3GAN 2.0 for horror film fans, or 13 Days, 13 Nights , a French blockbuster in which Roschdy Zem reenacts the evacuation of the French embassy in Kabul, which was exceptionally released on Friday, June 27.

While Hollywood blockbusters were sorely lacking last year, due in particular to the writers' strike in Hollywood in 2023 , Jurassic World: Renaissance , Superman , Fantastic Four , Michael Jackson (biopic), Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash are coming to theaters this summer and by the end of the year.

However, "the market share of French films is estimated at 40.4% and that of American films at 32.0%" since January, specifies the CNC.