French Movie Theaters Record 3.12 Million Admissions During Heatwave Week

French cinemas recorded 3.12 million admissions between June 17 and June 23. The total marked a 50 percent increase from the same week in 2025 and a 36 percent rise above the average for comparable weeks in 2017-2019. The National Federation of French Cinemas said the heatwave contributed to attendance but attributed the larger share of the increase to current film offerings.

Its director general stated that air conditioning alone would not have produced the same result. A city on the outskirts of Paris opened its municipal cinema on June 23 for scheduled sessions organized by the national education system.

January through May 2026 rose 20.6 percent compared with the same period in 2025, according to France's National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image.

5 drew more than one million admissions in its first week after opening June 17. Backrooms recorded 485,000 admissions in its opening week, and De Gaulle: Tilting Iron passed 900,000 admissions after strong word-of-mouth growth in its third week.