More than two million spectators returned to cinemas during their first week of reopening, according to figures published on Wednesday by CBO-Box Office, attesting to the great desire for the experience of the silver screen.
This statistic is all the more notable because after seven months of closure, cinemas are subject to a 35% capacity and a 9pm curfew that excludes late screenings.
In the same week of May in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, cinemas welcomed 2.4 million spectators, and in August 2020, when the blockbuster Tenet was released, they attracted 2.3 million.
Albert Dupontel's comedy Adieu les Cons, which got off to a very promising start before seeing its career suspended by the lockdown, is now back on track.
The film, which has since won seven César awards, has attracted more than 500,000 spectators.
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New releases took the lion's share of the rest of the box-office: the teen manga Demon Slayer drew 350,000 spectators, ahead of a film for young audiences, Tom & Jerry, which drew 250,000.
Next came Envole-moi, a feel-good movie starring Victor Belmondo, grandson of Jean-Paul Belmondo, and the absurdist comedy Mandibules by Quentin Dupieux with the comedy duo from The Palma Show, which each attracted over 100,000 spectators.
The Father, starring Anthony Hopkins is also expected to pull in crowds with its release this week.
The 2020 drama co-written and directed by French author Florian Zeller, based on his 2012 play Le Père, won two Oscars earlier this year (best screenplay and best actor).
