French Cinema Is Thriving at Festivals but Facing an Uphill Battle in U.S. Theaters as Distributors Navigate a Shrinking Market
- Festival acclaim has not made U.S. cinema releases easy for French films.
- “Amélie” earned about $33 million in the U.S.; “Anatomy of a Fall” took around $5 million.
- Fewer buyers and cinema bookings are squeezing smaller distributors.
French films are winning attention at festivals and awards ceremonies, but distributors say they are finding it harder to secure U.S. cinema releases and attract audiences. At a panel at the American French Film Festival, three experienced distributors described a shrinking market for independent and foreign-language films, with…