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“The year is 50 BC. Gaul is entirely occupied by the Romans. Well, not entirely! One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders …”

Thus begins the tale of Astérix and Obélix, beloved fixtures of the French comic book franchise created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo in 1959. Since that time, the two Gaul warrors who take on the Romans with the help of a magic potion brewed by their druid have appeared in 40 volumes translated into more than 120 languages, and adapted into 15 films, including the 2023 Netflix live action movie Astérix and Obélix: The Middle Kingdom.

Now, the duo is back in Astérix and Obélix: The Big Fight, a new French-language animated series created by Alain Chabat, writer and director of the 2002 live-action hit Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra. Chabat will also direct, along with Fabrice Joubert; he co-wrote the...

French-language action thriller Ad Vitam, starring Guillaume Canet, has entered Netflix’s all-time top ten for most popular non-English movies on its platform.

Per data collated by the streamer to coincide with the publication of its weekly top 10 charts, the movie has generated 54.5 million views since its release on January 10, in 93 countries including France, the U.S., Canada, Germany, Spain, the UK and Australia.

The achievement came as the movie clocked another 3.4M views over the past week, putting it in the No. 4 slot of this week’s chart.

Canet plays a former elite agent whose pregnant wife is kidnapped in an attack on their home by a mysterious group of armed men. As he embarks on a dangerous personal mission to get her back, his past catches up with him and he is plunged into a state affair that is beyond his control.

It marks a first major action...

Laure Calamy, the Cesar prizewinning star of “My Lover, My Donkey & I,” and “The Count of Monte Cristo” actor Laurent Lafitte lead the ensemble cast of “The Party’s Over,” a satirical comedy which has been boarded by France TV Distribution ahead of the EFM.

Directed by Antony Cordier (“Gaspard at the Wedding”) the movie also stars Ramzy Bedia (“Asterix & Obelix : The Middle Kingdom”), Élodie Bouchez (“Beating Hearts”), Sami Outalbali (“A Tale of Love and Desire”) and Noée Abita (“Sink or Swim”).

This film is produced by Cheyenne Federation, a well-established banner whose credits include Julien Leclercq’s remake of “The Wage of Fear” which was a hit on Netflix.

The movie revolves around Mehdi, 25, who is invited to spend a quiet summer with his girlfriend Garance and his in-laws in the south of France, and sees their trip turn into chaos after a conflict breaks out between Garance’s...

Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Michaël Youn, Nawell Madani, Carla Poquin, Jérôme Le Banner, Matthias Quiviger, Kaaris | Written by David Charhon, Vincent De Brus, Sebastien Fechner | Directed by David Charhon

The Gardener (Le Jardinier), not to be confused with the Gary Daniels/Robert Bronzi film, reunites Jean-Claude Van Damme and David Charhon who directed him in The Last Mercenary. And like that film, it’s an action comedy, but with the comedy dialed up a bit higher, and the action a bit more on the brutal side.

This time out, The Muscles From Brussels plays Leo, a man who simply wants to tend to plants on the large estate owned by Serge Shuster Special Adviser to the President of France. Nobody seems quite sure how he ended up with the position, and they think he’s a bit odd, but he does a good job so they’ve let him stay on.

European blockbusters are “an endangered species” according to new research which shows that a dwindling number of European features are attracting big audiences at the global box office.

The European Audiovisual Observatory report makes sobering reading about the state of the European film industry. It highlights an industry that is producing more and more films each year but failing to compete with the global box office success of US films.

The report found that only 41 European films managed to cross the threshold of one million worldwide admissions in 2023 – compared to an average of 72 in pre-pandemic years.

This is despite the...

Studiocanal and Editions Albert René have signed an exclusive development agreement for the fifth live action movie inspired by the adventures of French comic strip hero Asterix.

The deal comes as French publishing house Éditions Albert René marks the 65th anniversary of the creation of the plucky Gaul warrior Asterix and his sidekick Obelix by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo in 1959.

Since then, 400 million Asterix books in 130 languages and dialects have sold worldwide, with 40 albums of Asterix adventures published since 1961.

The Asterix & Obelix comic books are embedded in French culture and have inspired five live-action films to date: Claude Zidi’s Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar (1999), Alain Chabat’s Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (2002), Frédéric Forestier and Thomas Langmann’s Asterix At The Olympic Games (2008), Laurent Tirard’s Asterix & Obelix: God Save Britannia (2012) and Guillaume Canet’s Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom (2023).

They have had mixed fortunes...

Studiocanal and Editions Albert René have signed an exclusive development agreement for the sixth live-action film of the adventures of beloved French comic book character Asterix.

Created in 1959 by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, Asterix is celebrating its 65th anniversary in 2024. The series follows the adventures of Asterix and Obelix and their friends who live in a small village in Gaul, the only outpost of resistance against Julius Caesar’s mighty Roman empire. Since the characters were launched, they have become a cultural phenomenon, both in France and internationally.

Some 400 million Asterix books in 130 languages and dialects have been sold. Since 1961, 40 albums of Asterix adventures have been published and five live-action films have been produced.

The Asterix live-action films are “Asterix and Obelix take on Caesar” (1999), “Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra” (2002), “Asterix at the Olympic Games” (2008) “Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia” (2012) and Asterix and Obelix : The Middle Kingdom...

Zee End Is Nigh

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., the disappointed bride in the failed engagement between Zee and Sony India, has formally ended its quest for a merger. On Tuesday, it withdrew its application before the industry regulator National Company Law Tribunal and said that it will focus instead on internal growth. Pulling the Nclt application also makes it somewhat easier for Zee to pursue its arbitration and other legal actions against Sony.

The plan to merge the two mid-size film and TV businesses was on the table for over two years, but finally (acrimoniously) collapsed in January 2024. Sony is also seeking restitution from Zee, which it says failed to live up to the agreed merger terms. Since the wedding bells stopped ringing, Zee has also announced that it will slice its workforce by 15%.

Netflix Starts Filming Guillaume Canet’S ‘Taken’-Style Thriller

Guillaume Canet, whose latest directorial outing “Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom...

“Beating Hearts” (“L’amour ouf”), an epic crime romance directed by Gilles Lellouche and slated to compete at the Cannes Film Festival, has lured major distributors in key markets ahead of its world premiere.

The sprawling movie, which is budgeted in the $30 million range, is financed, co-produced represented in international markets by Studiocanal. One of the most anticipated and ambitious French movies set for a theatrical release in 2024, “Beating Hearts” was produced by Hugo Selignac at Chi-Fou-Mi, a Mediawan company, and Alain Attal’s Les Films du Tresor.

Studiocanal will distribute the film in Germany and Australia, as well as France, with a release set for Oct. 16. The company has sold it to Cineart in Benelux, Filmcoopi in Switzerland, Feelgood in Greece, Lucky Red in Italy, Lusomundo in Portugal, Kinoswiat in Poland, Greenlight Films in Ukraine, Capella in Russia and Pinema in Turkey. Studiocanal will be closing more deals at the Cannes Film Festival.

After a challenging start to the year, the French box office steadied in March with 15 million tickets sold, led by Warner Bros’ Dune: Part Two.

This was a dip of just 4.8% on March 2023. While not desirable, this is much less than the dip of 16.4% in February 2024 compared to the same month the year before which was buoyed by crowd-pleasing French titles Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom and Alibi.com 2 that dominated the box office in early 2023. Disney’s Avatar: The Way Of Water was also still in cinemas through February 2023.

Admissions for the first quarter of 2024 reached 43.7 million. 10% less...

The French box office dropped 16.4% in February compared to the same month in 2023, according to the Cnc, due to a lack of major US releases.

Some 28.6 million tickets have been sold in France since January 1, down 12.9% on the same period last year. In February, total admissions were 15m for a box office gross of €1.1bn based on an average ticket price of €7.20. In January, 13.5m tickets were sold for a gross of €97.5m.

February 2023 saw the release of French titles Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom via Pathé)and Alibi.com 2 for Studiocanal, while Disney’s Avatar: The Way Of Water...

The Kinepolis Group – which operates 109 cinemas worldwide with 1,131 screens and more than 200,000 seats – has posted record results for 2023.

The Belgium-based international exhibitor said it had achieved its highest ever revenue, thanks to a 20.6% hike in visitors to 35.3M, adding that the results were a sign that it had “completely recovered” from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Revenue increased by 21.1% to $657M (€605.5M), with Ebitdal increasing by 32.8% to $164M (€151.4M). Net profit doubled to $60.8M (€56.1M).

Within the overall revenue figure, there had been a 22.1% increase in box office returns to $372M (€318.6M) and a 24.2% increase in revenue from sale of drinks and snacks to $225M (€192.8M), as a result of higher consumption per visitor and inflation-compensating price increases in almost all the countries.

The exhibitor said that alongside the increase in admissions, its performance had also been boosted by higher spending per visitor, as a result of its investment...

Out of the many movies you could imagine emerging from the mind of French auteur Bruno Dumont, a Star Wars parody was probably somewhere at the bottom of the list.

And yet it’s been some time since the Cannes Grand Jury Prize laureate, who broke out in the late 90s with viscerally stylized, hard-hitting works of Gallic realism like The Life of Jesus and Humanity, has strayed far from his gritty roots towards a brand of accentuated arthouse satire.

His latest effort, the sci-fi farce The Empire (L’Empire), definitely fits the latter mold, although it’s loaded with enough VFX, light saber battles, spacecrafts and prophecies to give George Lucas a run for his money. That is, if Lucas decided to set the next Star Wars in a sleepy northern French city, used a local mechanic to play one of the leads and tossed in a few flagrant sex scenes,...

French mini-major Pathé has acquired Les Films des Tournelles, the production company founded by Anne-Dominique Toussaint whose recent credits include Louis Garrel’s Cesar-winning “The Innocent.”

Besides Garrel, Les Films des Tournelles has worked with a flurry of auteurs on some of their most successful films, including Riad Sattouf’s “The French Kissers,” which won the Cesar for best first film in 2010; Nadine Labaki’s “Caramel”; Emanuele Crialese’s “Respiro”; Valeria Golino’s “Miele”; and Mona Achache’s “The Hedgehog.” “The Innocent” won two prizes at last year’s Cesar Awards and screened at Cannes on the 75th anniversary of the festival.

Toussaint has also worked with Philippe Le Guay and Emmanuel Carrère. Toussaint, whose career spans over three decades, has produced 27 films so far, including iconic French movies such as Martine Dugowson’s “Mina Tannenbaum.”

As part of the deal, Pathé is acquiring Films des Tournelles’ full library while...

Already one of France’s most beloved and bankable actors (“The Stronghold”), Gilles Lellouche is about to graduate as a big-shot filmmaker five years after delivering his sophomore outing, “Sink or Swim,” a B.O. hit which lured more than four million moviegoers (over $35 million) in theaters.

His next movie, “Beating Hearts” (“L’amour Ouf”), budgeted in the €30 million range, is epic in many ways. And not just because of its breadth and running time exceeding three hours. A crime romance loosely based on Neville Thompson’s 1997 novel “Jackie Loves Johnser Ok,” the movie is an emotional rollercoaster spanning over 15 years in the lives of star-crossed lovers. It took Lellouche over a decade to write (alongside Audrey Diwan and Ahmed Hamidi) and four months to shoot with a cast mixing rising and famous actors, a pulsating soundtrack of cult 1980s and 1990s songs, topnotch key crew and dream-like musical interludes created by (La) Horde.

Studiocanal rolled out the red carpet at the Unifrance Paris Rendez-vous this week for actor Gilles Lellouche’s upcoming feature film Beating Hearts (L’Amour Ouf).

First images for the unconventional romance played on the big screen to two packed-out screenings at the swanky Royal Monceau hotel off the Champs-Elysées on Thursday evening.

The modern Romeo and Juliet tale co-stars François Civil, who is currently riding high on the back of his D’Artagnan role in Pathé’s Three Musketeers reboot, and Adèle Exarchopoulos as former childhood sweethearts from different sides of the tracks.

Having gone their separate ways when the boy gets caught up in gang violence and lands in jail on trumped-up murder charges, the pair reconnect against the odds years later.

The picture is adapted from Irish writer Neville Thompson’s 1997 novel Jackie Loves Johnser Ok? unfolding against the backdrop of Dublin’s tough suburb of Ballyfermot in the...

It was followed by Germany, Poland, Italy and Spain.

French films grossed an estimated €234m and 37.4m admissions from overseas markets in 2023. This was up 37.8% year on year and a 38.5% jump from 2022, but 18.5% down on a pre-pandemic 2019, according to export figures unveiled by Unifrance.

Animation was the top genre for French films internationally for the first time, stealing the spotlight from comedy and drama that typically attract the most audiences overseas.

The top five films by admissions were the animated Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir – The Movie (7.15m), live action comedy Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom (2.74m), animation...

French cinema saw its fortunes rise at the international box office in 2023 after three difficult Covid-19 and post pandemic years, according to the annual report of export agency Unifrance released on Tuesday.

The new figures showed that worldwide admissions for all feature films involving a French partner generated 37.4M admissions in 2023, representing a 38.5% rise year-on-year, for a 37.8% jump in receipts to $256M (€234M)

Within this, entries for majority French productions rose 74.7% to 29.7M. French language features saw a 53.6% rise in spectators year-on-year to 30.1M spectators.

Across 2023, 220 new French films hit the international market in 2,800 separate release campaigns.

Animated feature Miraculous The Movie by Jeremy Zag led the charge drawing 7.15M spectators in 26 territories for a gross of $34.8 (€31.8M) as of December 31, 2023.

In terms of admissions, it was followed by Guillaume Canet’s Astérix And Obélix: The Middle Kingdom, with 2.74M entries for a $19.9M gross and feature animation Epic Tails,...

By admissions, the 2023 France box office was down by 13.1% on the 2017-2019 average, the smallest dip in Europe.

France’s box office hit 181 million ticket sales in 2023, powered by combination of US hits led by The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Barbie, Avatar: The Way of Water and a few French twists, according to figures from the Cnc.

This is a rise of 18.9% on 2022’s 152 million admissions.

Total box office gross is estimated to be €1.3bn based on an average ticket price of €7.2. The final total is likely to be even higher when the 2023 average ticket price is calculated mid-year.

While...

French exhibitors can start 2024 with renewed confidence as new figures released by the National Cinema Center (Cnc) show that audiences are heading back to the big screen.

The Cnc has recorded 181 million theater admissions for 2023, an 18.9 percent jump compared with 2022. However, the national film body states that the figure remains around 13.1% behind the average admissions in the pre-Covid years between 2017 and 2019. 2023 was the first year post-Covid with no health restrictions on cinemas in France.

U.S. films topped the French admissions charts in 2023, with Universal’s The Super Mario Brothers leading the way with 7.15 million admissions, followed by Wbd’s cultural hit Barbie with 5.80 million and Disney’s Avatar: The Way of Water with 5.18 million. The only local title to sneak into the top five was Guillaume Canet’s Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom, the latest in the comedy franchise. The film clocked 4.48 million in admissions. Christopher Nolan’s...

The French box office jumped 19% in 2023 with an estimated €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) grossed from 181.2 million tickets, according to Comscore France.

Unlike in 2022, when the top 10 was exclusively dominated by U.S. movies, 2023 was bolstered by a mix of Hollywood blockbusters and French fare. Notably, “Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom” — Pathé’s big-budget comedy adventure inspired by the cult French comics — sold slightly more tickets than Christopher Nolan’s epic “Oppenheimer” from Universal.

Two other French movies ranked in the top 10: Studiocanal’s “Alibi.com 2,” the second installment of Philippe Laucheau’s comedy series riffing on adultery, and Pathé’s “The Three Musketeers: d’Artagnan” (pictured), the first of a two-part adventure saga based on Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel. The three top-grossers of 2023 in France were “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” the animated video game adaptation from Universal, Illumination and Nintendo; Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” from Warner Bros.; and James Cameron...

France closed out the cinema year on a high note, recording 181 million theater admissions for 2023, a 18.9 percent jump compared with 2022.

The official box office figures, released Tuesday by state cinema body Cnc, are still down double digits — 13.1 percent — from average admissions in the pre-covid years between 2017 and 2019. But France’s bounceback has been faster and more robust than that in quite a few other territories.

Estimates from box office analysis firm Comscore show that 2023 U.S. revenue to the end of November was still 21 percent off pre-covid averages in the 2017-2019 period. The U.K. showed a 13 percent lag behind its pre-pandemic period. Germany recorded 83 million admissions through November 2023, down 14 percent from the 2017-2019 average. Italy was off 22 percent, Spain 24 percent, and South Korea 47 percent.

U.S. films topped the French admissions charts in 2023, led by Universal Pictures’ The Super Mario Brothers, which racked up 7.15 million admissions, followed by Warner Bros....

Despite being plagued by harsh reviews from French critics and a derisive retaliation by director Ridley Scott, “Napoleon” had a strong opening in France on Wednesday, grossing an estimated $1.019 million from approximately 120,000 tickets sold on its opening day on Wednesday.

The French B.O. figure includes about 8,000 tickets sold at preview screenings across France, notably in Paris where Sony Pictures held a lavish world premiere of the historical epic on Nov. 14, a few days after the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike. “Napoleon”‘s French box office on accounts for nearly a third of the $3.578 million grossed by the film internationally since debuting on Wednesday. So far, the movie has grossed $11.303 million globally.

“Napoleon,” which stars Joaquin Phoenix as the infamous French emperor and Vanessa Kirby as his wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais, has been panned by French critics over its alleged historical inaccuracies and anti-French stance. Additionally, Phoenix’s performance...

Gaumont and Egerie Productions have announced they are teaming with Prime Video on heartwarming French-language drama My Mother, God, And Sylvie Vartan, which is the platform’s first French-language feature destined for a theatrical release.

The picture is adapted from the autobiographical novel of French radio and TV presenter Roland Perez and is inspired by his strong-minded Sephardic Jewish mother’s determination that he would live a full life after he was born with a clubfoot.

Her self-sacrifice and a consuming passion for the music of popular singer Sylvie Vartan enabled her son to achieve his dreams despite his difference.

Canadian director and screenwriter Ken Scott is attached to direct and also wrote the screenplay, adaptation and dialogue.

Filming will take place in Paris between September and November 2023

Leïla Bekhti and Jonathan Cohen lead the cast.

The French film is about one night in the life a teenager.

Paris-based sales company Pulsar Content has boarded French filmmaker David Moreau’s continuous shot genre film MadS and will kick off sales at Toronto later this month.

MadS, was filmed in a single take over just five days in the Grand Est region of northeastern France this summer and is in post-production with expected delivery in early 2024.

Yohan Baiada’s Paris-based Les Enfants Terribles, who co-produced 2023 Pathé blockbuster Asterix & Obelix : The Middle Kingdom, produced the film in co-production with Goodfellas and in association with Digital District.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is expanding its membership.

According to a press release, the organization that hands out Oscars each year at the Academy Awards has extended invitations to join the Academy to 398 artists and executives who have made notable contributions to the motion picture industry.

“The Academy is proud to welcome these artists and professionals into our membership. They represent extraordinary global talent across cinematic disciplines and have made a vital impact on the arts and sciences of motion pictures and on movie fans worldwide,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang in a joint statement.

Read More: The Academy Announces 2024 Oscars Date As Well As Submission Deadline

There are some big names and familiar faces among the invitees, including musicians Taylor Swift and David Byrne, and numerous actors, ranging from Selma Blair to Keke Palmer to “Elvis” Oscar nominee Austin Butler.

Those who accept will be only additions to Academy’s membership in 2023.

Vicky Krieps, Paul Mescal, Warner Bros Discovery head David Zaslav, Aftersun writer-director Charlotte Wells, She Said director Maria Schrader, and Kerry Condon are among 398 who have been invited to join the Academy.

Some 40% of the 2023 class identify as women, 34% belong to underrepresented ethnic/racial communities, and 52% are from 50 countries and territories outside the United States. There are 76 Oscar nominees including 22 winners among the invitees.

Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership. Should they all accept, the total number of members...

“Everything Everywhere All At Once” Oscar winners Ke Huy Quan, Daniel Kwan, and Daniel Scheinert, recent acting nominees Austin Butler, Paul Mescal, and Stephanie Hsu, and bold-face names for the extremely online like Taylor Swift, Abel Tesfaye (a.k.a. The Weeknd), and Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav were among the 398 people announced as new members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Wednesday.

“The academy is proud to welcome these artists and professionals into our membership. They represent extraordinary global talent across cinematic disciplines and have made a vital impact on the arts and sciences of motion pictures and on movie fans worldwide,” said academy CEO Bill Kramer and academy president Janet Yang in a joint statement.

This year’s class of new members is heavy on 2022 breakouts, like the aforementioned Kwan and Scheinert – invitees in both the directors’ brand and the producers’ branch. In keeping with academy practice,...

The Academy has invited 398 artists across cinematic disciplines to join its membership, including Taylor Swift, Keke Palmer and this year’s Best Supporting Actor winner Ke Huy Quan.

“The Academy is proud to welcome these artists and professionals into our membership. They represent extraordinary global talent across cinematic disciplines and have made a vital impact on the arts and sciences of motion pictures and on movie fans worldwide,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang.

Also scoring invitations are actors Selma Blair, Austin Butler, Ram Charan, Kerry Condon, Bill Hader, Nicholas Hoult, Stephanie Hsu, Noémie Merlant, Paul Mescal, Nt Rama Rao Jr. and Paul Reiser, directors Joseph Kosinski, Maria Schrader and Michael Showalter, writers Josh Friedman, Kazuo Ishiguro and Charlotte Wells.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” duo The Daniels (Credit: Getty Images)

Eight people were invited to join the Academy by multiple branches and must choose which...

Singer-songwriters Taylor Swift and David Byrne, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria, Everything Everywhere All at Once filmmakers Daniels (Kwan and Scheinert), Nobel Prize-winning writer Kazuo Ishiguro, former SXSW chief Janet Pierson, WME co-chairs Christian Muirhead and Richard Weitz, and actors including Selma Blair, Austin Butler, Bill Hader, Paul Mescal, Nicholas Hoult, Keke Palmer, Ke Huy Quan and Rrr stars Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr. are among the 398 artists and executives from around the world who have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this year, the Oscar-dispensing organization announced Wednesday.

“The Academy is proud to welcome these artists and professionals into our membership,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang said in a statement. “They represent extraordinary global talent across cinematic disciplines and have made a vital impact on the arts and sciences of motion...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released the names of its newest round of invitees, increasing the number of voting members past 10,000, should everyone accept.

With the addition of the 398 artists and executives that the Academy extended invitations to (totaling one more invite than last year), the Academy now boasts a membership that is 34 percent women, 18 percent from underrepresented ethnic and racial communities, and 20 percent from countries or territories outside of the United States. Though their invites have a rolling deadline, they must accept them and pay dues in order to vote for the Oscars and gain access to benefits like the Academy Screening Room.

Among the list of possible new members are, predictably, many of the filmmakers behind Best Picture winner “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” including Best Supporting Actor winner Ke Huy Quan, Best Supporting Actress nominee Stephanie Hsu, Best Film Editing winner Paul Rogers,...

Founded in 1966, Cgr Cinemas has since grown into France’s second-largest exhibition chain, boasting more than 700 screens across the country and a premium export branch in the guise of Ice Theaters. Since the beginning, the business has both remained in the hands of the Raymond family and stayed anchored in the southwest town of La Rochelle.

After putting the company up for sale in 2022, its owners Jean-Luc and Charles Raymond decided to hold on to it when the B.O. showed clear signs of post-pandemic recovery this past May. Along with abruptly canceling a sales deal, the owners also laid off its leadership, including its managing director Jocelyn Bouyssy, who had been at the company for 37 years and launched the Ice premium format, among other successful diversification initiatives. Bouyssy has been replaced by Laurent Desmoulins as directing manager. Both Desmoulins and Charles Raymond will be on-hand at this year’s CineEurope,...

Axa Im Alts, the alternative investment arm of global insurance company Axa, has struck a deal to acquire and expand France’s Bry-sur-Marnes Studios on the outskirts of Paris.

The future of the 12-hectare facility, which has previously hosted the shoots Marie Antoinette, Hunger Games as well as Astérix And Obélix: The Middle Kingdom, has been in question for some time.

The facility currently provides 62,300 square feet of studio space across eight stages, in addition to production accommodation of 215,278 square feet.

The studios will be managed by Guillaume de Menthon who was the president of Telfrance, one of France’s leading fiction production groups.

Axa Im Alts said in a statement that it was planning a significant development programme across the site which will more than double the production capacity.

“This was a rare opportunity to acquire one of the largest studios in France, close to Paris’ city centre,...

One of France’s largest studio complexes, the Studios of Bry-sur-Marne, have been bought by Axa Im Alts from Nexity.

The Bry-sur-Marne studios, which boast eight stages, hosts the filming of roughly half of all French productions, notably this year’s highest grossing local film “Asterix and Obelix: the Middle Kingdom,” and the Canal+ series “Marie-Antoinette.” The studios facility is part of the 12 acres of land acquired by Axa Im Alts, an asset manager and investment vehicle for Axa, the global insurance company.

As part of the deal, the studios will now be managed by Guillaume de Menthon, the former boss of Telfrance, a prominent producer of TV content such as the daily soap “Demain tout commence.” De Menthon will strive to double the site’s production capacity.

It marks Axa Im Alts’ first venture in the fast-growing studio sector. The company stated that it anticipates the “rapid growth in...

Aside from its Palme d’Or for Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall,” the French cinema world is also celebrating the near-complete recovery of French box office after the pandemic.

Ticket sales are still 11.6 % down on the average levels of 2017 to 2019, but the good news is that the B.O. jumped by 33% with 82.38 million admissions during the first five months of 2023, according to the Cnc (National Film Board).

The upward trend is driven by the spike in anticipated U.S. movies being released — they skyrocketed from 29 in 2022 to 51 in 2023 during the first five months, according to Comscore France. There’s also been a tide of successful French movies, ranging from big-budget, franchise-based movies like Guillaume Canet’s “Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom,” Philippe Lacheau’s “Alibi.com 2” and Martin Bourboulon’s “The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan,” to original fare like the Omar Sy starrer “Father and Soldier” and François Ozon...

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Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Fubar” scored big this week as it debuted in the No. 1 spot on Netflix’s English TV List with 88.94 million hours viewed.

The action comedy series, which marked Schwarzenegger’s first TV series, has received more than 12 million views and appeared in the Top 10 in 90 countries this week. The first installment of “To All The Boys” spinoff “Xo, Kitty” followed closely behind “Fubar” in second place with 63.78 million hours viewed while “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” took the third spot on the English TV list with 42.9 million hours, boosting the “Bridgerton” spinoff series to 66 million overall views since its debut as it climbed to the Top 10 in 91 countries. “Bridgerton” Season 2 also made an appearance on this week’s list, though it dropped down to the No. 10 spot with 12.54 million hours watched.

The Netflix movie and TV series that have been dominating the streamer’s weekly viewing chart were both still atop the Top 10 chart for the week of May 15. Read on for this week’s analysis.

Jennifer Lopez‘s action-thriller “The Mother” burst into the weekly streaming chart last week, and it topped the English films list for a second week with 94.4 million hours viewed globally. That means the movie has been viewed by almost 90 million accounts, i.e. 178.1 million hours viewed divided by the movie’s 1.96 hour runtime. It remained in the Top 10 in 93 countries with many of those regions, including the U.S. and Canada, the #1 viewed movie.

The documentary “Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me” also entered the charts in second place with 15.7 million hours viewed, followed by a number of non-Netflix films like Seth McFarlane‘s hit comedy “Ted,” Tom Hanks‘ “A Man Called Otto,” and the sci-fi thriller “Synchronic.

Guillaume Canet’s 2023 adventure comedy Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom is a movie that feels like a breath of fresh air amidst all the tension, drama, and sadness that the film industry has been releasing of late. Based on the world-famous Asterix comics by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, the latest live-action movie stars some of the biggest names in French cinema, including Guillaume Canet, who plays Asterix; Vincent Cassel as Julius Caesar; and Marion Cotillard as Queen Cleopatra, among others. With an exciting adventure and an entertaining group of people, our heroes Asterix and Obelix go through a series of emotions on this journey as they try to save the day. Read on to learn more about this wholesome and light-hearted movie that’ll surely keep you entertained.

Spoilers Ahead

The Princess

It’s been a while since we, the audience, got to see a proper comedy movie...

There are millions of us who remember the joy of getting a fresh comic of Asterix and Obelix in our hands and diving into the world of rowdy, boisterous Gauls, scheming Romans, magic potions, and a whole lot of fun. René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo’s masterpiece, the Asterix and Obelix series, gets a live-action adaptation of “The Middle Kingdom” comic, and it’s every bit as fun as you’d expect it to be. Guillaume Canet brings us the live-action representation of this joy with his latest adventure comedy, Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom. With fabulous actors, jaw-dropping scenery, amazing representation of various cultures, and side-splitting humor, this movie is all you need for a happy weekend.

In the barricaded little town of Armorica inside Gaul, where our heroes Asterix and Obelix spend their days hunting boars and thumping Roman soldiers, a mysterious carriage driver brings in treasure from a land far away.

”Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom" is the new $72 million budgeted, France-produced live-action feature, directed by Guillaume Canet, based on the comic book character "Asterix" by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, starring Guillaume Canet as 'Asterix', Gilles Lellouche as 'Obelix', Vincent Cassel as 'Julius Ceasear' and Marion Cottilard as 'Cleopatra', streaming May 19, 2023 on Netflix:

"...'Princess Fu Yi', the only daughter of 'Emperor Han Xuandi'...

"...escapes from rogue prince, 'Deng Tsin Qin'...

"...and flees to 'Gaul'...

"...seeking help from 'Asterix' and 'Obelix'..."

Click the images to enlarge....

Germany’s leading independent film distributor Leonine Studios and A24 are partnering to set up joint label A24 | Leonine Studios, which will distribute films in Germany and Austria.

The first films to be released under the new banner are the newly acquired titles “Wizards!” by David Michôd, starring Orlando Bloom, Naomi Scott and Pete Davidson, and Sean Durkin’s “The Iron Claw,” with Lily James, Harris Dickinson, Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White. Producing alongside A24 are Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Angus Lamont for House Productions. “The Iron Claw” was developed by House Productions, with the support of Access Entertainment and BBC Film.

The new label builds on the companies’ collaboration on multi-Oscar winner “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which was released by Leonine on April 28, 2022, and garnered more than 380,000 admissions in Germany and Austria.

Leonine and A24 will also work together to create additional benefits for members of...

Since its establishment in 2019, Leonine Studios has become one of Germany’s leading film distributors.

Forged by the merger of two companies, Concorde Film and Universum Film, the distribution powerhouse releases between20 and 25 films a year, including around five in-house productions or co-productions, says Bernhard zu Castell, Leonine Studios’ chief distribution officer.

“Our aim is to offer a slate of event movies that is an optimal blend of genres for all target groups and all our partners in the highest possible quality,” adds zu Castell, who previously headed Universum Film. “This strategy was key in establishing ourselves as a reliable distributor and licensor for all content platforms.”

The company last year enjoyed its biggest hit yet with “School of Magical Animals 2,” a fast-growing franchise that Leonine also co-produces. The film sold more than 2.8 million admissions (3 million counting Austria), making it 2022’s most successful German release and the fifth highest-grossing movie of the year by admissions.

Variety will bestow its International Achievement in Film Award on German production, licensing and distribution company Leonine Studios at a ceremony at the Cannes Film Festival next month.

This award is the most prestigious honor Variety can bestow on an international film company or executive, and is designed to spotlight the honoree’s achievements over the past few years.

Steven Gaydos, Executive Vice President, Global Content, Variety, said: “Building on the links to a storied, successful history, Leonine Studios has rapidly established itself in the past few years as one of the world’s leading producers, licensors and distributors of premium movies and series.

“The Leonine Studios name is now known for its brave and highly informed decision-making, as well as its innovation, and its allegiance to high-quality product. In a challenging and complex global entertainment business environment, Leonine is steering a dynamic, creative course that is serving as a...

The blockbuster French cast of Amazon Prime Video’s third season of “Lol: Qui rit, qui sort” speaks volumes about the Japanese variety format’s tremendous popularity in France.

The Amazon Original series, adapted from the format “Lol: Last One Laughing,” scored its biggest launch to date on Prime Video in France since bowing on March 10. The show is one of the streamer’s first unscripted originals in France and has been a major coup as a brand exercise that’s succeeded with limited resources — certainly in comparison to scripted comedy. Adaptations of “Lol” have also thrived in Italy and Germany where they have ranked as the most watched local titles on the service, respectively. Local versions are also available in Spain, Canada, Mexico and Australia (hosted by Rebel Wilson).

On the heels of its milestone success with “Lol: Qui rit, qui sort,” the French teams at Amazon Studios are...

’Avatar: The Way Of Water’ is now the biggest film of all time in France.

France’s box office is bounding back steadily with a nearly 40% jump in February year-on-year ticket sales, driven by Disney’s Avatar: The Way Of Water, Pathe’s Asterix And Obelix: The Middle Kingdom and Studiocanal’s Alibi.com 2. But admissions are still below the pre-pandemic 2017-19 average according to figures released by the Cnc.

Even as James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way Of Water broke records and the local-language blockbusters started strong, February’s ticket sales of 18.2m remain 21.3% below the 2017-2019 average.

Guillaume Canet...

French pay-tv giant Canal+ went on the offensive at a special event in Paris on Wednesday, promoting its historic role as the biggest supporter of local and international cinema in France and laying out its past track record and future plans.

The roadshow-style conference was part of an operation laying the ground for the launch of a new high-end, cinema-focused channel Canal+ Box Office which was teased at the end of the event.

“2023 will be the most beautiful year for cinema in the history of Canal+. We’ve never held an event like this before devoted only to cinema, but we felt the need to talk about this,” declared Canal+ Group Chairman and CEO Maxime Saada.

The exec said the banner year was due to three factors, topped by the agreement it signed with the French cinema guilds in early 2022, pledging to invest at least €200M (213M) annually in cinema over five years.

Update: James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has overtaken the filmmaker’s own Titanic at the international box office with an estimated 1.538B through Sunday. That makes it the No. 3 movie of all time abroad, behind the original Avatar and Avengers: Endgame.

Globally, The Way of Water reached 2,174.4M through the 8th weekend, putting Titanic in its sights on a worldwide basis. However, the big boat movie is getting a rerelease this coming week, so rankings will depend on what kind of numbers it generates as the two films likely play tag next session.

Way of Water is currently the No. 4 biggest movie of all time worldwide and added 27.9M overseas this frame for a 36 drop. It remains the No. 1 non-local title in several offshore markets, including France, Germany, Spain, Australia, Japan and Korea.

The Top 5 markets to date are China (240.6M), France (141.5M), Germany (130.7M), Korea (105.5M...

”Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom" is the new 72 million budgeted, France-produced live-action feature, directed by Guillaume Canet, based on the comic book character "Asterix" by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, starring Guillaume Canet as 'Asterix', Gilles Lellouche as 'Obelix', Vincent Cassel as 'Julius Ceasear' and Marion Cottilard as 'Cleopatra', now playing in theaters:

"...'Princess Fu Yi', the only daughter of 'Emperor Han Xuandi'...

"...escapes from rogue prince, 'Deng Tsin Qin'...

"...and flees to 'Gaul'...

"...seeking help from 'Asterix' and 'Obelix'..."

Click the images to enlarge....

Hello and welcome back, Insiders. Jesse Whittock here to guide you through another week in film and TV. Onwards to the weekend…

UK Production Booms… Sort Of

Slow Horses

Feeling a little peaky: There was a lot of good news in the BFI’s latest official production spend stats – and some worrying stuff, too. The top line figures for the UK’s film and TV industries were excellent: record spend of £6.3Bn (7.8Bn), up more than £600M on the (also record-setting) £5.6Bn from 2021. Film production was up a welcome 27 to almost £2Bn but high-end TV (Hetv) once again provided the lion’s share (£4.3Bn), as shows like Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Slow Horses and Top Boy drove up spend. Inwards investment – a fancy way of saying ‘money from overseas’ – accounted for 88 of that total, but Hetv spend was actually down 3 year-on-year. As we all know, U.

Guillaume Canet’s ambitious 64M euros (70M) production Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom was on track to be the top opener at the French box office on Wednesday, but it remains to be seen whether the film can match the success of its predecessors.

Pathé released the title on 950 screens across France in the biggest theatrical launch of early 2023 for local productions. The mini-major bankrolled the film and is also a producer alongside Alain Attal’s Tresor Films and Yohan Baiada at Les Enfants Terribles.

In first figures for the Paris region, which can be a bellwether for box office performance across the rest of the country, especially for mainstream local productions like Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom, the film scored the strongest opening.

By 2 pm local time, the film had drawn 9,091 spectators in 84 theaters, split between 3,274 admissions on 29 screens in the city and 5,817 admissions in outer Paris.