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Supply Chains

Le Havre, September 3, 2024 – At the 30th Unifrance Rendez-Vous, held in Le Havre for the first time, the Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée (CNC) and Unifrance unveiled their annual report on French audiovisual exports. Despite a challenging global market, French audiovisual content sales reached an impressive €203.4 million in 2023, a slight decrease of 5.3% compared to 2022. This marks only the third time in the past 30 years that exports have exceeded €200 million, previously achieved in 2017 and 2022.

The report highlights the resilience of the French audiovisual sector amid declining acquisition budgets and cautious buyer behavior. Total exports, including sales, pre-sales, and co-production contributions, reached €309.2 million, down 3.3% from 2022. This performance aligns closely with the decade-long average, reflecting the ongoing strength of French audiovisual exports.

French programs continue to dominate international VOD platforms, accounting for 31.3% of export revenues. However, traditional TV broadcasters remained the primary buyers, making up 54.2% of sales.

Dramatic fiction maintained its position as the top export genre, with €74.5 million in sales. Series like HPI, Marie Antoinette, Bardot, and B.R.I. contributed significantly to this success, despite a 7.7% decline from the previous year.

Documentary sales remained robust, generating €47.2 million, driven by content related to current events and hybrid works like Oligarques russes: la grande traque and La Bataille du Cobalt.

However, animation saw a decline of 11.2%, reflecting reduced buyer investment, particularly in North America.

Western Europe reclaimed its position as the top market for French audiovisual exports, accounting for 46.8% of global revenues in 2023. Sales in the region reached €95.1 million, with Belgium emerging as the largest buyer of French content.

North America, previously the top buyer in 2022, saw a steep decline, with sales dropping to €22.3 million. Asia/Oceania and Central and Eastern Europe followed with equal shares of 6.9%.

Foreign pre-financing for French audiovisual projects remained stable at €105.8 million. Although pre-sales decreased by 35.6%, co-production contributions rose by 34.5%, with animation leading in both areas. Co-production investment in dramatic fiction also increased by 50.8%, while documentaries experienced a slight decline.

Western Europe remained the largest co-production partner, contributing 84.3% of total investment.